There's No Rhyme or Reason
by freakishlyobsessedwithmovies
Summary: JONAS. Who knew trying to set up one of my best friends with Nick Lucas would turn my entire world upside down? The dreaded Nick/OC, but you know you want to read it. Especially if there is Stella/Joe and Macy/Kevin goodness thrown into the mix.
1. Meet Jane, The Normal Teenager

Okay, this is my first time writing something about the surprisingly amazing show JONAS, but I think everyone will like it.

And, I have uploaded this before, but it was obviously at the wrong time because no reviews came. Thanks to the single reviewer who took the time! I'm going to try this again. I know, it is a dreaded OC, but I believe if you give the story a chance you will find yourself surprised. Moreover, there is Kevin/ Macy _and _Joe/Stella goodness! How could anyone refuse?

Please review after you have read, because a writer does need to know what people think of their writing and the story.

Disclaimer: I only own the OCs, and the pathetic song written at the end. Nothing else...

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"Okay class, today we are going to try some improv to see how much all of us have learned this first semester. I'm going to call everyone by alphabetical order, and you are going to stand in front of the class and _try _to give me a short biography of yourself. And, yes. It _has _to be in _French_," Madame Love said in her stupid-always-cheerful-voice. But, don't let the voice or last name fool you. It's a mask for her true, demonic self.

And, may I add that this assignment is the most retarded assignment ever given in the history of _all _assignment giving?

"Now, let me get the roster," Madame Love muttered. See? She can't even remember her students' names. Like the woman actually cares if I told her about my life-

"Jane Abbot, you're up first."

Crap.

And, yeah…I'm Jane Abbot. Sixteen years old and terrible at French.

I got up slowly and took my time getting to the front of the classroom, which didn't even waste two seconds since I sit in the middle row, front seat. I stood awkwardly, facing my classmates as my teacher waited for my beautiful French to flow freely from my mouth.

Too bad I'm failing the class…and it's not because I don't do my homework; I _suck _at foreign languages.

"Jane?" Madame Love questioned as I kept silent. "You can begin…now…" Some chuckles from the class met my ear, and I sighed. Well, I might as well get it over with; even if I embarrass myself in front of my peers.

"_Bonjour, je m'appelle Jane Abbot_…" I mumbled slowly, but at least I knew I said my greetings correctly. Everything else? I don't know, but I guess the guffaws echoing around the room gave me a hint. After I introduced myself, I could only say whatever came to my head, hoping I sounded super super smart and French-like. Oh well, at least I got to see the comical, horrified look on Madame Love's face once I finished my glorious, foreign monologue.

"J-Jane," my teacher stuttered. You know, when the woman looks like she is going into cardiac arrest because of my terrible language skills, it is kind of funny. She looks kind of like a mime drowning in a tank of water…anyways, back to listening to what is actually happening in the real world. "Do you have _any_ idea what you just said?"

"Nope," I shrugged. At least I'm honest. "Oh wait! I know I said 'Good day, my name is Jane Abbot.'" I smiled when I heard my best friend, Adam Johnson, stifle his usual, booming laughter. Unfortunately, my smile left immediately when I saw the scary look Madame Love was giving me. Her eyes were narrowed, and she was tapping her long fingernails against her metal desk. I then had a frightening mental image of my own teacher impaling me with her fingernails while screaming at me in perfect French.

"Scary," I whispered.

"What's scary is how you went from introducing yourself to saying your mother has _five_ eyes and eats buttered toast in the same sentence!" Ugh…did I really say that? At least it was in actual French.

"Hey, maybe her mom does have five eyes!" A male voice piped up from my left. Ah, I can always count on Van Dyke to back me up. After all, 'cousins stick together like tape and other sticky stuff' (his words). I nodded my head in mock seriousness, feeling the embarrassment go away as my entire class agreed with the awesome football player.

"And, who doesn't love buttered toast?" I added.

"Mr. Tosh," Madame Love stated coldly. Man, that woman knows how shut up twenty students with a two words. I started to fidget with my hands when an eerie silence descended upon the room. The teacher turned towards me, and said one letter, just _one _letter that destroyed the rest of my seemingly pleasant day.

"_F_."

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"Come on," Adam nudged me in the arm in his usual, carefree way. Sometimes I wonder if the guy had a head injury which resulted in the loss of all negative emotions. I should ask him sometime; maybe I could do the same thing and live out the rest of my life obliviously happy…eh, never mind. I like my normal life with the small dose of drama thrown in the mix.

I struggled to put all of my books in my extremely messy locker. But, hey, a girl has to have the bare essentials at school; my extremely old Pocket Gameboy, iPod, my Frisbee for random, awesome games of Ultimate Frisbee, three XXXL sweatshirts for cozy comfort in icy classrooms, junk food for emergency cravings/stressful situations, and the Decepticon symbol in the back to show my nerdish pride. I never said the bare essentials were girly, so if you're shocked, I'd suggest you deal with it. I'm not the only female who likes Transformers and video games.

Anyways, school just ended, and the sickeningly cheerful male nudging my arm was trying to cheer me up from my epic fail, "You're not the only one who did badly; I sucked too." That he did. Before I spent the rest of class with my head in my hands, ignoring the world, I witnessed my friend's presentation. He mispronounced his own name, trying to add a French accent to make everything sound authentic. To me (and probably a lot of other people), Adam sounded like he had some phlegm in the back of his throat and he was threatening to spit it out.

I finally got my locker closed after much cramming and shoving. I rolled my eyes at Adam's consolation. "Just because I'm not the only one who failed, doesn't mean I'm happy with failing." I swear I do all of my homework, and I even study, but all of the rules of a foreign language just never stick in my brain! I waited for my friend to come up with another seemingly positive comment.

I looked and almost laughed at the sight of him racking his brain over something to say. Adam Johnson may be one of the sexiest men alive, but his way with words never stays on par with his tall, built physique, chestnut hair, and striking blue eyes. Luckily most of the girls at this school don't think the English language is the most important factor when it comes to choosing guys. So yeah, he's pretty popular. Almost as popular as the Lucas brothers, but since Adam's not a famous musician, the three brothers win in the ladies' department. No hard feelings on either side, though. Adam could never get angry with anyone and the Lucas brothers' are actually pretty cool people.

From what I hear, that is; I barely know them besides the fact they are JONAS. All I know is that Nick is the youngest and smartest, Joe is in the middle and the most wanted, girl-wise, and Kevin is the oldest and goofiest. Every time I pass him in the hallway I hear him talking about magical monkeys or bunnies in the shape of clouds.

Adam snapped his fingers with a grin and an enlightened look, "I've got it! Five words." He raised his palm with all of his slender fingers raised and a victorious smirk etched across his face. "Blue Bell Chocolate Chip Mint."

He knows me too well.

"Pint?" I asked with rapt attention.

Adam scoffed, "Like you would settle for less." True, one could only experience the true awesomeness of the chocolatey-minty-goodness of the ice cream with an entire pint.

"Jane?"

"Hm?"

"You've got that dreamy stare again."

I snapped out of my delicious treat reverie and grinned, "Sorry, let's get going before I start to drool."

"That's not very lady-like," a new voice interrupted. My lips curled up at the corners even more as I recognized the voice immediately. I turned around to see my other best friend, Allison Harris. She's also sixteen and almost rivals Adam in the Looks Department; short blonde hair with a gentle curl, porcelain skin, and grey eyes. Unfortunately she's also the shortest person alive. Four foot eight and can barely meet my shoulder. Don't worry, Allison compensates her petite stature with a temper hotter than the fires of- well, you've heard of the place. Even my cousin, Van Dyke, thinks she's scary beyond reason…along with the rest of the football team.

"You guys are going out for ice cream?" Allison questioned us with her grey eyes flashing in annoyance. Adam flinched. "Think you could scamper off without telling me, huh?"

"Awww," I said as I patted her head, "Did you miss us?" While Adam and I have some classes together, Allison doesn't have any with us. That's what she gets for not taking advanced placement classes like we did. Though, I should have stuck with normal French.

The blond swatted my hand away with a frown. "No," she mumbled.

"Such a liar," I sighed and walked past my two friends, getting my keys out. "Come on, Adam. You promised me delicious treats, and since Allison doesn't miss spending time with us like she did in Junior High, she won't mind staying behind."

Adam gave an apologetic look to the shocked Allison, and jogged up next to me as I exited the main building.

"Geez guys, wait for me!" Allison yelled as her short legs ran to catch up to us. I grinned and Adam threw his arm around Allison's shoulders jovially.

"I knew she missed us," Adam beamed, ignoring the grumpy look on the petite girl.

"Whatever," she mumbled.

I pressed the unlock button on my car keys and heard the normal clicking on my silver 2003 Toyota Corolla. Okay, so not the fanciest car in the world, but it serves its purpose and that is what counts. My reflection caught my eye and I shrugged at my normal appearance. I wasn't as sexy or beautiful as Adam or Allison by any means, but it wasn't like I was ugly either. I wore make up, but just the essentials; mascara and all that eye crap is too hard to put on with my clumsy hands. I have long, uncontrollable, curly red hair, but that's okay; people can't tell if I'm having a good or bad hair day. I straightened my thick-framed glasses before I opened the door, and plopped down in the driver's seat. I slung my book bag in the back seat, and put the keys in the ignition. Once I heard the familiar singing of Bono from U2 fill my ears, I sighed in content.

"You love your music," Adam mused from the passenger's seat, closing his door. I started to lip-synch to "With our Without You," confirming the guy's statement. I waited a few moments to hear the last door open and shut, but it never came. Allison needed to get her rear in gear and get in the car before I left her. What is taking her so long anyway? I turned my head to look out the side view mirror to find my friend staring blankly into the distance.

Scratch that, Allison was staring _dreamily_ in the distance.

Wait…what?

Allison doesn't do dreamy expressions; she frowns, snarls, sneers, smirks, grimaces, and glares. On a really good day, she would just have an uncaring expression. I cocked an eyebrow and nudged Adam in the arm. When he turned toward the same direction I was looking, he laughed incredulously, "Well, look at that."

"You're telling me." I got out of the car and walked over to Allison who still looked like she was on Cloud Nine. "Allison," I said to get her attention.

No response.

I snorted. This was quite the sight; my evil friend looked like she was in love. But…with what…or who? I directed my eyes to where Allison's glazed eyes gazed and ended up gasping in surprise.

I am in all astonishment.

Completely shocked.

Allison was totally making eyes at Nick Lucas. THE Nick Lucas; the talented musician of JONAS. I looked back and forth between the petite girl and the oblivious rock star making his way towards his very nice car (he has a freaking 2009 Camaro; I am so green with jealous rage). Yup, she was looking at him. Maybe she's just brain dead, because Allison never talked about guys or even mentioned a possible crush.

Never mind, not brain dead. I just punched her in the arm and she hit me back. She's totally alert.

So, I did the only thing I could do. I mean, what any other good friend would do…

I laughed my butt off.

Allison Harris has a crush on Nick of JONAS!

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"Stop laughing!" Allison shouted, getting red in the face from yelling at her two companions sitting on the curb and enjoying a pint outside of Walgreens. "Am I not allowed to like a guy?!"

I struggled with eating my ice cream and laughing uncontrollably at the same time. I always love when life throws surprises my way. Once I swallowed some more of the minty goodness that is Chocolate Chip Mint, I turned towards the raging blond with a grin. "You are. _Trust me_. You are allowed to like a guy. I just never thought I would see the day," I said that last part with a dramatic wiping of the tear and sniffed.

"You're one to talk," Allison grumbled, turning red from embarrassment. Yet another image I never thought I would see.

"Hey," I raised my hands in defense with my spoon still in my mouth, "If there was a guy who was actually worthy enough of my romantic attentions, I'd be on Cloud Nine too. No offense, Adam," I added looking over at the boy who was being surprisingly silent after finding out Allison liked someone.

"No offense taken," Adam laughed. "Also, I wouldn't have as much trouble understanding you if took that spoon out of your mouth."

"Yeah, you sounded like you did when you had that allergic reaction to shellfish," Allison piped in. I grimaced at the horrible memory. Imagine my face the size of a pumpkin. That's all I can say, really.

I took the spoon out of my mouth, and found out that I had already eaten my entire pint. Dang it. I threw the spoon in the carton dejectedly. "So Adam, what should we do with our dear Allison since she has fallen for one of the top catches at our school?" I smiled deviously at the girl in question and waited for Adam's input. Because, to put it simply, the guy is a genius.

I know all of you are probably thinking, "Hey you and Adam sound perfect together!" Uh, no. Just platonic feelings from both sides. The guy is undeniably perfect, but he smiles too much... Stupid reason, yes, but it's the truth. With the exception of me and Allison (I think), all of the other girls think he is Edward Cullen without the sparkles. Moving on…

Adam never answered me. Instead, he quickly stood up from the curb. "Adam?" I asked incredulously. "What's wrong with you? You actually seem upset."

"That's not possible," Allison snorted, but she did appear to show her own version of concern.

Surprisingly, Adam flinched at those words, but quickly smiled afterwards. "No, I'm fine. I just…um…I just realized I need to get home and….do stuff…See you later Jane…Allison." After that completely awkward statement, he turned around and retreated rather quickly. Adam lived close to around the area, so I didn't worry about him getting home alright.

What had me worried the most is how the person who just left did not seem like Adam Johnson I had known for ten years.

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"What do I do?!" Dang! Now Allison is asking for advice? In the past two hours both of my friends have completely changed.

I shrugged as I turned down the street where my lovesick friend lived. "I've never liked anyone, remember?" I answered stiffly. I'm not mad at her, really, but Adam's strange attitude had bothered me to the point of irritation.

"Well, you're no help," she mumbled, looking back out the window.

I sighed as I put the car into park on the Harris' driveway. I sat with my brow furrowed in deep concentration. I couldn't leave without giving the poor girl some sort of advice. Okay, girl likes boy…well, what do I know about that? I have never had a crush on anyone. Maybe if I read a book on the subject- no that's stupid. "On second thought, I was being serious. I have _no _idea what to do to help you. You're the one with the feelings, what do you think you should do?"

Allison turned back with another new expression. She looked flustered, confused, angry, and embarrassed at the same time…is that even possible? "Argh! I don't know! I barely know the guy, and I don't even know _why _I like him. It's just every time I see him my heart starts to beat really fast, and I find myself unable to function. Oh gosh, Jane, I saw him as I was walking down the stairs the other day, and he actually said 'Hi' to me. If Adam wasn't there I would have fallen down the stairs!"

I burst into laughter. I have to admit that this new side to Allison was getting to be quite entertaining. After I received yet another punch in the arm from the tempered girl, I shut up with difficulty. "Sorry, sorry."

"I'm having a crisis and you're laughing at me!"

"Oh come on," I said, rolling my eyes. Did I also mention that with her temper came extreme dramatics? No? Well, now you know. "If I was in your shoes, you would be the one laughing at me."

"True…"

"Look, I'm just going to drop you off so you can think over this a little more," I explained. "Once you decide what you want to do, call me."

Allison looked unsure, but she eventually nodded and got out of the car. We waved goodbye and I drove back to my house.

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"Mom, Dad! I'm home," I called out as I entered my two-story house. My Dad, Christopher, works for a local freight company while my Mom, Stacy, teaches Algebra at a junior high. We're a middle class family, and I happen to be the only child which has its perks. I basically have the entire upstairs to myself.

I walked into the kitchen, catching the wonderful scent of my Mom's cooking. Mmm…smells like tacos. I saw the middle-aged woman bent over the stove, stirring some spices into the ground beef while an equally-aged man sat at the kitchen table, reading the comics (such a kid at heart).

"Hey guys," I said, still in my food-dreaming state. If you can't tell yet, I have a passion for anything edible, and I have my Mom to blame for that. We have definitely received some stares at restaurants when we order…and clean the plate(s).

"Jane, don't drool on the floor," my Mom warned and with good reason. I tend to do that. Luckily the food at school sucks enough where I don't have a salivating problem.

'Then stop making good food," I answered, sitting at the table across from my Dad. He smiled his greeting and handed me half of the paper.

"I think Jane actually helps clean the floor," my Dad said, nonchalant. His wife laughed lightly as she finished the meat. Ah yes, it is great when you and your drooling problem can become a source of humor for your parents.

After I stuffed myself with a delicious meal of loaded tacos and had a nice conversation which _so _involved my telling of Allison's rock star crush, I ascended the stairs humming Paramore's "Careful." I entered my room and plopped down on my bed, sighing in content.

What do I usually do in my room? You'll see.

I reached in my nightstand and pulled out a notebook that had seen better days. Its faded blue cover was almost off its spirals, but at least I could still see the black letters that read, "Jane's Super Secret Notebook of Lyrics Concerning Random Life Events." My trusty JSSNoLCRLE notebook.

I suck with titles.

I skimmed through the many pages of songs that really were about anything and everything, ranging from my Transformers poster to my dislike of AP French (a project currently in progress). Writing lyrics has been a hobby of mine ever since I bought my first CD. Don't get me wrong; this is not a dream I'm pursuing here. I still have no idea what I'm going to do with my future, but I highly doubt my crappy lyrics concerning Optimus Prime are going to earn me a living. Though I do always write a fun (and pathetically simple) back-up, acoustic guitar part.

I stopped at my work in progress. The title is still to-be-determined. I snorted derisively when I read over the words. Sometimes I surprise myself with what I write, and it isn't always good.

_I never thought I could hate_

_A foreign language to this date_

_But, here I am, prove me wrong,_

_A writer of a French hate song._

"_Wow_," I brought a pillow to my face, and muffled my screams of how terrible the song sounded. "Not only does it sound terrible; it sounds racist!" I crossed out the offending lyrics, and sighed when I saw I was back to square one. For all the native French speakers out there, I am so sorry.

Maybe I should just scrap the song altogether-

"Jane, your cell phone is ringing!" I heard my Dad call from downstairs. Welcoming the interruption, I retrieved my phone. Seeing the caller was Allison, I simply pressed the phone to my ear because with my vertically-challenged friend, there were no "Hello's".

"I know what to do!" I heard her rough voice say confidently.

"What are you going t-"

"I'll tell you what I'm going to do," Allison continued, sounding like she had come up with the perfect plan. "I am going to _talk _to him."

I waited for her to go on, but after a few moments of silence I realized that was all she had planned. Two hours of planning and she only came up with that simple sentence.

"Sounds good," I said hesitantly, "But, what are you going to _say_?" Nick Lucas didn't seem like the type of guy to just randomly talk to someone about anything or everything.

Allison paused, and I had a feeling that her next statement would involve me. "Well, before I actually do talk to Nick, I was hoping you could do a favor for me…" I knew it.

"What?" I asked, wary and also kind of expecting what her favor consisted of.

Allison chuckled nervously, "I was wondering if you could maybe…find out what Nick's interests are?"

"And _why _can't you ask him yourself?"

"Because he's Nick of _JONAS_!" Allison shouted, causing me to take the phone away from my ear. "I can't just walk up to him ask him what his interests are!"

"Actually…yeah, you can."

And then, the girl on the other line said something I never thought I would ever hear coming from her.

"Jane, I'm too scared to talk to him, will you _please _help me?"

I grinned, thinking that Allison crushing on Nick Lucas could definitely be good for her.

So in the end, I agreed. The plan, "Spying on Nick Lucas at School and Asking People Associated with Him Plan," would commence tomorrow.

Yes, the long title _is_ necessary.

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Okay, please let me know how you guys liked it. I know, it's slow, but it will definitely pick up in the next chapter. I think it's going to be good, but that's just me. Please review and tell me what you think.

By the way, I don't know if Nick actually does have a Camaro or not, but it's my favorite car right now…

The next chapter will come tomorrow; I just like to hold everyone in suspense.


	2. Stampedes and Broken Bones

As promised, here is chapter 2! Thank you so much for the reviews and the support!

Okay, I have never had so much fun writing before. I love this chapter, and I hope you guys do too!

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I pretended to study my history book across the trio of rock stars as they gathered at their lockers. Those guys get two lockers a piece…can anyone say unfair? And, is that a smoothie maker in one of them? Kevin's making a strawberry smoothie…yum...No, no, no, don't think about food or delicious beverages Jane. You can't drool at school. And, I just giggled out loud at the rhyme I just made, attracting some attention to myself. How embarrassing.

Okay, back to spying. I should probably talk to him in person like any normal person would, but I figured some surveillance in the beginning of the plan was acceptable. And, I already tried studying Macy Misa's website, but that was information anyone could pick up. No offense Macy. Allison needed something fresher; something that would definitely surprise Nick.

I know. I am an amazing friend…or just weird, but let's stick with amazing friend.

Nick had just held out a huge stack of papers after accepting the homemade (or should I say schoolmade?) smoothie with a smug expression on his boyish features. Kevin and Joe took one look at the papers and groaned.

"We're not doing an anthology are we?!" Joe asked with a whine while Kevin simply banged his head against one of his lockers.

"No. Just five songs," Nick answered shortly as he gathered his books for the day. "I wrote them last night."

I dropped my mouth open. That guy wrote five songs in one night? When it takes me months to just write _one_? Unfair! And, those five songs will probably reach the Top Ten on the billboard while mine stay in my tattered notebook. Some people get all the glory.

Kevin stopped taking his frustrations out on his head and turned back towards his youngest brother. "When do you want them memorized?"

"By the end of the week."

Kevin turned back to the lockers and continued to hit his head, and this time, Joe joined in as well. At this time, I started to wonder if the Lucas brothers always behaved as such. I also realized that I did not discover anything new concerning Nick. It's all about the music with this guy. Not that that is a bad thing; I don't mind since I like music too, but Allison needs to know something else that no random individual would talk to him about.

Just as I was about to head to my first period, two girls bounded up to the brothers. Oh yeah, that's right. The blond is Stella Malone, Jonas' stylist, and the brunette is Macy Misa, the super number one fan of the band…

…and also the girl who just whacked Kevin upside the head with a tennis racket.

"AH! I am so sorry!" Macy squealed as Kevin tried to decipher what just happened.

"N-no, it's okay," the oldest brother said weakly, rubbing the injured spot with his hand. "Eh? Is that blood?" he asked lightly and then promptly passed out on the floor.

"KEVIN!"

Nick and Joe helped their brother off the floor while Stella ran through some breathing drills with the erratic Macy. Joe appeared to be over-dramatic as he cried and shouted over Kevin's unconscious form. Stella had to take a break from Macy and smack Joe in the arm to get him to shut up. Nick simply stood to the side, holding the bridge of his nose. From the constant movement of his lips, I concluded he was trying to calm himself down. He seemed to be having difficulties in doing so…

Joe, Macy, and Stella ended up taking/dragging Kevin to the nurse's office, while Nick stayed behind. I raised my history book to the point where only my eyes could glimpse over the top. The guy looked stressed beyond belief, so he leaned against his locker and took deep, even breaths.

You know, from where I'm standing, he looks older than he really is. Just a thought.

Crap, he looked this way. Need to casually leave for class before he suspects anything.

Note to self: Nick Lucas likes strawberry smoothies.

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Okay, first try at surveillance did not go as well as I had planned it. I may have discovered that Nick likes strawberry smoothies, but I doubt Allison could start a good conversation with that information. However, if it were me with the crush, I would go for it, because smoothies are a wonderful topic…

"Jane, you're drooling again."

Crap.

It was Adam who had given me the friendly warning. I gave him a once over and noticed that he seemed to be back to normal. A permanent smile etched on his face, and he actually bothered to say hello to anyone who walked by him. Good, now I can ask him about his weird behavior yesterday.

Since first period (American History) had already begun and Mr. Roberts was checking the role, I took the chance to write a note to Adam.

_So…care to explain yesterday?_

I flicked the paper onto my friend's desk and he grinned. He always did love note passing…along with everything else. And, so our note chat commenced.

_**It was October 5**__**th**__** in the year 2009. Monday. You embarrassed yourself in French class, and Allison likes a guy.**_

_That's really not what I meant. You actually stopped smiling during our conversation at Walgreens. That never happens. What was bugging you?_

_**I had bad ice cream.**_

_There's no such thing as bad ice cream! You started acting all weird when Allison revealed her crush. It should have been a blissful moment for you!_

_**It wasn't.**_

_Do you have a problem with Nick Lucas or JONAS or something?_

_**No! I just think Allison could do better…for a first crush, I mean.**_

_What are you talking about?! He's a famous rock star who is actually down to earth! I'm kind of ecstatic about her liking him._

That's when Adam crumpled the paper we wrote on and tossed it in the trash can with…_holy muffins_…a look of irritation.

Who is this carbon copy and what did he do with the real Adam?!

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Phase two of my master plan is now in motion. It is lunch time and my job is to "accidentally" overhear Nick's conversation at his lunch table.

I usually eat lunch with Adam, but since somebody has kidnapped him and put a look-alike in his place, I'm going to leave the evil twin to eat by himself. I'd eat with Allison if I had the choice, but her lunch time is later than mine.

I waited in line for what seemed like the entire lunch period before I could get my tray full of what I thought was food. The sign said meatloaf, but I'm not too sure.

I scanned the crowded room in search of my subject, and found him eating in the corner with his brothers and Stella. Kevin looked like he had seen better days. I would feel terrible if a huge bandage covered half of my face too.

I made my way to a conveniently empty table right next the Lucas's table. Maybe I could succeed in my mission this time-

"THERE THEY ARE!!!!!!!!!!!!! _JONAS_!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Oh no…

The next thing I knew I was pushed to the side as a stampede of girls ran past me to get to the three boys in the corner. And- like the wind I might add- Nick, Joe, and Kevin flew out the double doors.

Good for them; they got out unscathed. Me? I was sprawled on the floor with my lunch dumped all over my school uniform. I almost let a tear slip out when I saw my cookie trampled into pieces on the floor.

"My snickerdoodle," I whined.

Those girls will pay…

A hand appearing in front of my line of vision blocked out my murderous thoughts and I looked up to find Van Dyke holding an amused expression.

"You have to watch out for those visiting debate teams," my cousin said lightly as he helped me up. The "meatloaf" that had fallen on my skirt now fell to floor and made a very disgusting sound. "You probably want to wash that."

"_Really_?" I asked with sarcasm.

Spying on Nick Lucas started to seem impossible. What next? Somebody kidnaps him during my next try?

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I made my way cautiously to the bathroom. I definitely did not want to have a repeat of earlier. The high-pitched screams of the fan girls still rang through my ears and the meatloaf began to put a foul stench on my school uniform.

The halls were empty because class had already resumed, but with a simple visit to the office, the vice principal gave me a note excusing me from the first half of my next class, AP English, which explicitly stated, "_Please excuse Jane Abbot from the first half of class for reasons of inappropriate attire._" An excuse which can be misconstrued in so many ways. Great.

After entering the bathroom, I tried to wash the stains from my red blazer and white blouse with a paper towel and water. I got the leftover food off but some very noticeable stains remained.

"That debate team owes me a new uniform," I muttered as I looked at myself in the mirror. I gasped when I saw there was even food on my face and hair, and then my mood turned even darker.

Before I could yell some obscenities in the bathroom, I heard the door creak open. My eyes met those of Stella Malone, and…

She looked quite amused over my appearance.

"Did you like the meatloaf that much?" The girl joked.

I'm so glad I could make everyone's day brighter.

"Believe me, I did not do this on purpose," I said, gesturing at my attire. "Your friends' fans didn't think to politely ask me to move aside during their rampage."

The blond sighed and began looking through her abnormally large purse, "Sorry about that. The boys usually have a fore-warning before any type of visiting team comes here. Luckily the rush is over, but I keep getting texts from Joe telling me he's fearing for his life." A fond smile perused her lips. Should she really be smiling over somebody fearing for their life?

"Aha! Here it is," Stella beamed and raised an orange-looking stick out of her purse. She held it out to me, "Think of this as an apology." A Tide pen! My savior in disguise!

"Thank you," I gushed and quickly took the pen. Finally, the stains came off! I could go to class without looking like I took a nose-dive into the school trashcan.

I gave the Tide pen back to Stella, feeling much better since I had one of my problems of today resolved. Now I just had two other problems to fix. Find out what's wrong with Adam, and get a little more information on Nick. Maybe I could just talk to someone, but who could I talk to…?

Wait a minute…

One of Nick's closest friends is in the same bathroom as me.

_Perfect_, I thought with a devious mental voice.

"So…" I started off casually, handing the pen pack to Stella, "How long have you and the Lucas' been friends?"

Stella had been emptying her purse and placing on the counter what seemed to be a very complex, expert make-up kit. She opened the kit, and five layers ascended from the bottom.

This girl takes her feminine side seriously. Just looking at her makes me feel like a hobo.

"Basically forever," Stella answered, another fond smile appearing on her features. "They really are the greatest guys ever…except when they act so thick-skulled over something _so _simple, and get sloppy joe's all over their _shirts_." The blonde's grip on the kit tightened fiercely, and her sudden change of attitude kind of frightened me. I inched away when I actually felt the anger radiate from her.

"Are we talking about all three of them, or just one person in particular?" I asked, once I was at least a good five feet from Stella.

"Huh?" Stella snapped her head up and lost her anger. Instead, she actually looked embarrassed. "W-well look at the time! I need to get back to class. Sorry, see you later…um…Jamie?"

"Jane," I replied, dead-panned. I didn't expect her to know my name anyway, but Stella wasn't as helpful as I thought she would be. Instead of getting information on Nick, I got information on a mystery person that Stella dislikes very much. At least, I think she dislikes that person. Then again, maybe she cares about that person too much, and- why am I thinking about this?

I looked to my right only to find the girl had already escaped from the bathroom without my knowing. I sighed and looked at my reflection once more. My hair looked like it always did, though I had to wet it to get rid of the food, and my clothes looked normal again. I picked up my book bag from the floor, and was about to head out the door until something shiny caught my eye.

A tube of lipstick? And it's called '_Romance Rouge_.' Stella must have been in such a rush she actually forgot it. I pocketed it so I could return it to her later. I think her locker was close to mine anyway.

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"_Bonjour_!" Madame Love chirped as she walked into the classroom. "_Comment-allez vous_?"

Some people actually answered her question, but I stuck to giving the Adam look-a-like the stare-down. Maybe if my constant staring made him uncomfortable, the guy would tell the truth and reveal where he hid the real Adam's body. I want my old buddy back; I miss his annoying and ceaseless smiles already. Plus, I need someone to complain about my bad day to. I could use Van Dyke, but the last time I used my cousin as someone to talk to…he ended up looking at some girl off of the cheerleading team during the entire conversation. I love my cousin, I really do, but the guy really is the cliché portrait of a football player.

"Jane," Adam sighed, "Stop it."

"Stop what?" I asked innocently. "I'm just looking at someone who looks like Adam. There is an amazing resemblance between you two."

Adam cocked an eyebrow, and looked at me like I was crazy, "Did you take a hit on the head during your meatloaf accident?" Okay, really, does the entire school know about that now?!

I shook my head and got serious, "Okay Adam, what is up with you? Ever since Allison told us about her crush, you've become all stand-offish, and every time I ask you about it you ignore me."

Is that a flicker of guilt I see in his eyes? Wha- oh no, he's pouting. It's the puppy-dog face! Argh! No, no, no resist it; do _not _let this slide. No matter what he says, do not-

"I'm sorry," Adam said to me with the most pitiful expression imaginable. "You're right; I've been a total jerk."

"It's fine," I said, heaving a sigh. Man, why does he have to make it so difficult for me to stay mad at him? "Just, go back to normal. This emo version of yourself kind of sucks."

Adam pretended to be sad, "What? I just wrote a song about my depressed feelings."

"I'd like to see that," I laughed, glad to have my friend back to normal. But, seriously, if Adam ever wrote a song, I would pay big to hear it.

"Okay class," Madam Love started, signaling that class had begun. "Today, we are going to do something _très_ different-"

"Are we going to get an assignment in English?" One of the football players in the back of the class piped up. Now there's an assignment I wouldn't mind doing for AP French, but from the miffed look on the instructor's face, I kind of guessed that was impossible.

"No, Mr….um…"

"Jameson, Todd Jameson."

"Right," Madame Love said unapologetically, and then went back to her bubbly attitude. "Anyways, since I was majorly disappointed from mostly everyone's presentations from yesterday-" Okay, she really doesn't have to give me a pointed look when talking about that "-I have decided that there are other ways of getting an idea of how much you all have learned so far this semester than on-the-spot assignments."

And all it took was everyone embarrassing themselves in front of their peers to make her realize her faux pas (no pun intended).

"So I thought the best way to test your French abilities is to have all of you write a poem no shorter than sixteen lines!" Madame Love said ecstatically while the rest of us groaned. "And, each of you will present your poems the last day before Halloween….eh? What _is_ that banging noise?"

"That's Jane banging her head on the top of her desk, ma'am."

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"That was a little dramatic, don't you think?" Adam asked me after class as we walked to our lockers.

"I was just portraying everyone's feelings at the time in a physical manner," I stated in a huff. Okay, maybe banging my head against the desk was a little dramatic especially when it was over a poem. But, come on! It's a French poem! I may like writing rhymes, but there is no way I could achieve rhyming in French.

"I am not going to pass this class," I muttered, opening my locker. "What was I thinking? Taking AP French? I'm insane, Adam."

"I'm not going to deny your insanity, but I think you're being too hard on yourself," my friend said while gathering his books to put in his backpack. "You're smart Jane, and you like a challenge. That's why you took all these upper-level classes. You will pass this class because you won't let yourself fail."

I grinned at Adam's words, "Thanks." I shut my locker triumphantly, and started to walk towards the doors to meet Allison (who was probably getting impatient from waiting) when I suddenly realized I still had Stella's lipstick. That girl might get an aneurism from losing the article of make-up.

"Shoot, I forgot," I halted and turned around to meet the eyes of a confused Adam. "Sorry, I forgot I have to give something back to Stella. You can go wait with Allison if you feel like it."

"Well, actually. I'm not-"

"Okay, see you then," I called over my shoulder. I just wanted to get his over with.

I waved Adam off and then continued back the way I came. I turned at the end of the hallway, and I found the fashionable blond talking to Macy Misa in an animated fashion by their lockers. Also to my surprise, the Lucas brothers were close by, obviously waiting for Stella at a safe distance. I kind of felt bad for Macy; she obviously admired Jonas a lot.

I would have considered this a great opportunity for finding out some valuable information about Nick, but there was no time since my friends were waiting for me.

"Stella!" I called out, catching her attention. The blond smiled and waved.

"Meatloaf girl!" she acknowledged, joking of course. Well, I guess the whole school does know after all since Macy and the Lucas brothers nodded knowingly.

"Stella told us what happened after we ran," Kevin said apologetically. "Sorry about that." Aw, he looks so guilty, but it is freaking adorable. Why do all these people around me have faces that I can't get mad at? I looked to Joe who looked equally apologetic, but kind of amused over my nickname. And Nick…well, I couldn't tell, but I am going to assume deep down he felt apologetic.

"Nah, it's fine," I waved it off. "You aren't the ones who pushed me to the ground and stepped on my snickerdoodle anyway." My heart still went out to my crushed cookie. My sorrowful remembrance came to a halt when I realized everyone was looking at me in a strange way, except for Kevin and Joe who looked equally saddened by the death of a delicious treat. What did I come here for? Oh right, lipstick.

I pulled the tube out of my blazer pocket and held it out to Stella, "You left this in the bathroom earlier."

"Ah!" Stella gasped and took it from my hands looking extremely grateful. "I thought I'd lost it! This is my favorite shade too. Thank you!"

"No problem," I shrugged. "Anyways, I have to get going. My friends are waiting for me. See you around." I turned and almost started to walk away, but a blunt object happened to stop me in my tracks. A baseball bat hitting me square in the nose to be more precise.

Apparently Macy had tried to fit her baseball bat into her locker and it fell out of her grasp, causing quite the painful experience for me.

Today just isn't my day.

And the words that came out of my mouth were not pretty. Good thing no children were around.

"Oh no! I am so sorry! Curse my Jonas-caused clumsiness!" Macy shrieked, looking like she was about to cry because of the pain she caused me. Everyone rushed up to me as I held my bleeding nose and yelling every curse word I had ever hear of…and made up a few of my own on the spot. Just use your imagination because I am not writing the many colorful metaphors that came out of my mouth.

"Holy crap! Are you okay?!" Joe asked, trying to get a look at my nose.

"Oh gosh, look at all the blood!" Stella screamed. Okay, that statement did _not _help me one bit.

"I think it's broken," Nick observed quietly, trying to get me to remove my hands from my nose. He wasn't very successful since I wouldn't comply. I kind of had this fear that my nose would actually fall off if I let go. "You have to let me look at it."

I shook my head, wincing at the pain it caused. "No way." No one ever said I was mature during intense situations. My refusal brought a sigh from the youngest Lucas.

"I can take a look at it!" Macy piped in. "I'm an expert with broken bones."

"That's because you're usually the one who breaks them," Joe muttered.

"Joe! It was an accident!" Stella yelled in defense of her best girl friend and punched the boy hard in the arm. Joe recoiled and glared at the blond.

"That hurt!"

"Good!"

Kevin stood in between the raging pair, trying to calm them down. "Now, let's all go to our happy places! Stella, think of scarves and chick flicks; Joe think of pandas and-"

"Shut up Kevin!" Joe snapped, but then lost his angered look when he saw the hurt on his brother's face. Joe then proceeded to apologize to Kevin as Stella resumed scolding him…and comforted the hysterical Macy at the same time. It was quite the sight.

I turned away from the chaos erupting around me and towards Nick who held his head in his hands.

"Never mind," I muttered in a nasally voice as I held my nose, "You can look at my nose."

I lowered my hands hesitantly and winced from the blood which remained on my palms. I looked at Nick and I could finally tell what emotion he was portraying on that stoic face of his. It was a mixture of shock and horror. Never a good combination.

"It's broken…isn't it," I stated lamely.

Nick bit his lip and nodded, "Yeah, you definitely do not want to look in a mirror."

"Let me see," Kevin escaped from the arguing pair and took a look at me. He jumped back when his eyes glimpsed at my nose.

"Is it that bad?" I asked, worried.

"No! Not at all!" the oldest Lucas said in an awkwardly high-pitched voice.

I stared at the boy incredulously. He had to be lying. I turned back to Nick who shook his head at his brother.

"I guess I'd better get to the hospital," I said in disbelief of how the end of my already terrible day turned out. Seriously, who gets meatloaf dumped all over them and breaks their nose on the same day?! The universe is against me!

"It was my fault! I'll take you," Macy ran up to me, looking so scared and remorseful. With a face like that, how could I stay mad at her? Seriously, everyone around me has one of those faces.

"There's no way you are driving a car in your condition," Stella said to Macy. _Her_ condition? What about me and my broken nose?

"But, it's my fault-"

"I'll drive Jane to the hospital," Stella said resolutely.

"You don't _have_ a car," Joe rained on the blonde's parade. The realization dawned on her face, and she looked away sheepishly. "I'll take her," Joe continued.

"I drove you here, remember?" Kevin reminded his brother. "Dad took your license away after the mailbox incident." Kevin and Joe shuddered at the memory. "We'll both take-"

"You promised Mom you would pick up some groceries for her. _I'll_ drive her," Nick interrupted. No one said anything after that, thinking that Nick was the best person for the job. Except for me, that is…

"Whoa, hold on a second," I laughed in disbelief. "I can just have my friends drive me." It was a generous offer, but I really couldn't have a guy I barely knew drive me across town when my friends were in the front parking lot waiting for me.

"It's okay! Nick's an excellent driver," Kevin said energetically.

"That's…good to know…" I said, confused. "I'm just going to leave now." I tried exiting the hallway again, but something stopped me, _again_.

Kevin and Joe grabbed a hold of both of my arms while Stella and Macy retrieved my backpack and purse. The next thing I knew, I was being taken by _force_ and by two members of Jonas no less. Nick walked in front of the group grabbing his keys from his back pocket.

Am I being kidnapped by rock stars?

"Hey!" I exclaimed, trying free myself from Joe and Kevin's grasp. "What do you guys think you're doing?!"

"We're taking you to the hospital," Joe confirmed. "It's the least we can do."

"Are you insane?!" I exclaimed, pulling against both of them. Are these guys made of metal? Because my struggles are being rendered moot! Let's try placing my feet firmly on the floor…

Nope, that didn't work either. Now they're basically dragging me. Why aren't Stella and Macy saying anything?! Girls are supposed to stick together! And Nick? Well, I couldn't see his face, but he kept on walking as if he was just having another ordinary day. That's it, forget setting Nick up with Allison, she can date someone else who didn't kidnap innocent girls with broken noses.

"I already told you my friends could take me!" I shouted as we got closer to the front door of the school. "Come on, this is _ridiculous_!"

"You know what's really ridiculous?" Kevin said, totally oblivious to my struggles and glares. "An otter playing the trumpet, but I just can't get the image out of my head." He laughed heartily as Joe did the same.

"I put that on my website as a background for your bio page, Kevin of JONAS!" Macy gasped in excitement.

Kevin of JONAS? So…what does that make everyone else? Does that make me Jane of NOTHING?

That's a depressing thought.

"What do you have on mine, Macy?" Joe asked, extremely curious.

Macy laughed, and for a second I thought the girl was going to hyperventilate. "Blue pandas of course!"

Blue pandas? Trumpet playing otters? These people are stranger than I am! And, that is pretty hard to do.

Nick held the door open and Kevin and Joe pulled me outside. Luckily, I also saw Allison and Adam waiting by my car. Of course I would scream for help.

"Allison! Adam!" I yelled, catching their immediate attention. "_Help_!" Adam seemed to have been having an intense conversation with the short girl beside him, so it took a second yell from me to catch their attention. Allison did a double take as she saw me being dragged in the opposite direction I was supposed to go by two boys with three other people crowding around me. When she finally grasped what was going on, Allison grabbed Adam and ran in my direction. I sighed in relief as my two friends made their way towards me. Everyone else looked unfazed by my pleas for help.

"Jane!" Allison shouted and skidded to a halt in front of the Lucas brothers, looking like a tiger ready to pounce. "What are you doing with her?! And, what the heck happened to your face, Jane?! Did one of you do this? Because if so, I will _pulverize _you…"

Macy hid behind Stella while Joe and Kevin looked a little perturbed by the small girl's attitude and glanced at Nick, wondering if they should let me go. Unfortunately, Allison noticed Nick was there as well and totally froze.

"Um…uh…well…uh…" Allison stuttered. Good grief, the one time I actually need that girl's fierce words and she becomes tongue tied. I turned my head to Adam who winced at my appearance.

"What's going on, Jane?" Adam laughed nervously. "Why are Kevin and Joe Lucas dragging you out of the school? And…why do you look like you just got mugged?"

I was about to open my mouth, but Stella and Macy spoke before I could and explained the whole complicated, ludicrous situation. Adam nodded at every word politely while Allison looked like she was about to pass out from being in Nick's presence.

"Long story short, I'm taking her to the hospital as sort of repentance," the youngest Lucas ended the explanation.

"There's nothing to repent!" I exclaimed causing Nick to jump a little. "Geez, you didn't _do_ anything, and Adam, Allison, _one_ of you can drive me!"

Wait, why does Adam look guilty? He's supposed to agree with me and free me from my captivity.

"Sorry Jane…I…I was going to tell you earlier, but I brought my own car today because I have to go out of town to help my grandma move to a retirement home. In fact, I should have left ten minutes ago," my friend explained sorrowfully. Well, I couldn't yell at him for that, dang it.

I turned towards Allison as my last hope.

"Allison…"

"Sorry Jane," the petite blond apologized looking down. "My monthly visit with my Dad is tonight, and- ah- he just pulled up." Allison's mom and dad had a nasty divorce back in elementary school, and she can only see her father once a month. I totally forgot with the drama of today. I couldn't yell at her either.

I sighed and lowered my head in defeat. They both had their hands tied, and at least I had someone who was willing to take me to the hospital. I had to accept it. "It's fine. Get going or both of you will be late." My two friends apologized over and over before they scattered into their different destinations, leaving me with my captors. Man, my nose was really starting to hurt, and from the red spots on the pavement, I guessed the bleeding started up again with all of my struggling and yelling.

"Okay, let's get you to the hospital," Stella said, knocking Kevin and Joe away from me. She handed me a handkerchief with a concerned expression and led me to Nick's car; the lonely, red 2009 Camaro. Even in my state, I could still be impressed with the awesome car.

"Wait," I paused. "What about my car?"

"I'll bring you back here after we get your nose fixed," Nick explained. "Stop stalling." He held the door open from me while Kevin helped me in the car. Joe opened the back door for Macy and Stella as they put my stuff in the back seat.

"Alright, you crazy kids have fun," Kevin joked and closed my door. Joe waved goodbye and started to walk off with his brother.

Stella had to drag Macy away from my side of the car since the girl was basically on her knees apologizing to me again.

"I'm _so _sorry! People who aren't a part of JONAS are usually safe from harm, and I-"

"Macy, it's okay!" I assured the kneeling brunette out the open window, trying to form my mouth into a smile without causing any pain. "Accidents happen." Please don't let them happen again, though…or wait until I'm not around.

The girl brightened up considerably, and faster than I had expected. She jumped to her feet and smiled gratefully.

"Well, good luck!" Macy waved and jogged back to Stella.

Okay…now that just left me…and Nick…

Nick Lucas…

Oh my gosh, Nick Lucas of JONAS is driving me to the hospital while I'm getting blood all over his leather seats…

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Ah, so fun! Well, I have the next chapter written already, but I love the suspense! Tomorrow I will upload it.

By the way, I know Stella has a car, but let's just say it's gone for the moment.

Nick will be in the next chapter more, I promise. I just didn't like the idea of suddenly making it all about him. Not that I don't like him! I think the guy is adorable, even if he is too young for me…*sigh* I curse the day I turned 22.


	3. New Friends and New Revelations

I love you all! Seriously, I thought I would only get one review again, but I found myself surprised. I told you this was going to be fun.

I know; long chapter. Just the way everyone likes them. ;)

Remember: Reviews are more helpful than encouraging.

Disclaimer: In case everyone forgot…I own nothing to do with JONAS or any other famous musician mentioned in this chapter. OCs are mine, though. So, I guess that's something.

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"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Nick said while turning his iPod on. I was about to check on my appearance in the visor mirror just to see the damage. "Curiosity killed the girl who looked at her broken nose."

I put the visor back up in a huff, not even bothering to give a polite laugh at his lame joke. "How can you tell it's broken anyway? Are you a doctor?" Yeah, I'm being mean, but please tell me who wouldn't in my situation. I received a metal baseball bat to the face and I was dragged out of the school by people I barely knew. My only consolation was Nick having an awesome car. Black leather seats with a new car smell, and the Camaro was iPod compatible. As I said; awesome.

"I don't need to be a doctor," Nick said, pulling out onto the highway. "Your nose looks like a black-and-blue-with-red-all-over "_Z_"." He winced after hearing his own words and I did too. "Sorry, that was a bit crude." He cleared his throat awkwardly and continued trying to find a song to play, ignoring my outraged expression.

"It's fine…I guess," I said in defeat when my glare did not get the reaction I wanted. I decided to use my eyes to look out the passenger window. I could kind of see my reflection from the glass, and once I did, I almost wanted to cry. Nick's description had been spot on.

New Jersey rushed by in a blur of gray and green. I became content with window-gazing throughout the whole ride, but I also couldn't stand the awkward silence. Then again, did I really want to talk to the boy who had his brothers basically kidnap me? But…he's also willing to drive me to the hospital…so I guess Nick couldn't be that bad.

"Ah, there we are," Nick said under his breath. Music proceeded to play throughout the car. I guess he found the song he was looking for. "Do you like Stevie Wonder?"

I shrugged, listening as the catchy soulful tune met my ears. "I've never really listened to him before, but I do love music. This song sounds good though. What's it called?"

"'Superstition'," Nick answered, snapping his fingers along with the drum beats, "Possibly the best song ever written."

I laughed as I saw Nick basically "jam" (I put it in quotes because I don't consider a subtle head movement jamming) out to the R & B song. His curly hair lightly bounced back and forth from moving his head around in beat with the song.

"Who else do you like?" I asked. We both had time to kill since the traffic was a little heavy on the highway. The car literally inched forward as I spoke.

I found my question answered when another song played through the speakers.

It was probably the most random song to play after Stevie Wonder, too.

"_You_ like Johnny Cash?" I asked in all astonishment once I heard the familiar country lull of "Ring of Fire." "I would have never guessed." Seriously, I thought Nick would listen to The Beatles or Nirvana all the time, or something along those lines. He is part of a rock band after all.

"Am I not allowed to like Johnny Cash?" Nick asked with a furrowed brow.

I shook my head, "No, I didn't mean it like that. I just never expected this song to play after Stevie Wonder."

"I like a lot of music," Nick said indifferently. Oh gosh, I hope I didn't offend him. I opened my mouth to apologize for the big hole in the middle of my face that sometimes had trouble shutting up, but the supposedly offended interrupted me.

"What type of music do you like?" he asked, throwing me off-guard. Okay, I guess he wasn't offended; which is good, but _very _confusing.

"I'm not too picky," I answered slowly, unsure of the questioner's intentions. Who knows? Nick might be setting me up for an embarrassing conversation. "I guess you could say I like everything…unless it's not good."

Wait, did that make any sense?

"What?" Nick asked, flicking his eyes off of the road and to me for a split second. "You like all music except for what you don't like?"

I guess it didn't.

"It makes sense to me," I replied defensively, crossing my arms. I waited for the insulting laughter to come from the musician sitting next to me, but a different reaction came instead.

A soft chuckle met my ears, and I turned from my brooding corner to see Nick with a small grin… Okay…I guess me making a fool of myself amused him, but it wasn't the bad type of amusement. You know, laughing at the expense of someone else's misfortune? The boy next to me appeared genuinely amused in his own, quiet way.

Not to mention Nick Lucas' grin was the most infectious grin I had ever seen. And let me tell you, I know a lot of people with good smiles: my parents, Van Dyke, Adam, just to name a few. But Nick Lucas…_wow_.

I shook my head when I realized I went into too much detail over a guy's facial expression. There's something I've never done before. Weird.

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"Yeah, it's definitely broken," the doctor said as he examined my nose with an annoyingly bright light. The painful poking and prodding wasn't necessary either.

Nick sat in the corner of the examination room, reading a book he had brought with him. Okay, now I'm starting to feel guilty over having him wait on me, but I kind of wimped out in the waiting room. That's right, I wimped out. And the whole waiting room moment went by as such:

Me: Oh gosh, the doctor's going to straighten my nose!

Nick: Yes, he is.

Me: It's going to hurt!

Nick: Yes, it is.

Me: I'm going to die!

Nick: No, you won't.

Me: I can't do this!

Nick: Yes, you can.

Me: Are you sure?

Nick: Yes, I am.

Me: Will you come with me?!

Nick: Yes, I will.

Argh! I can actually feel the guilt _washing _over me. Then again, I guess that's how he felt during the accident…

Well…I guess we're even then.

Wait, the doctor is talking again. Time to go back to the real world.

"I'm going to set the bone in place," the male doctor, who looked like he just hit his one-hundredth birthday a week ago, said to me. He tried to get near me again, but I backed away with wide eyes. I remember all of those times in horror movies where the guy/girl with the broken bone has it straightened. A loud pop and scream _always _follows.

"Young lady," the old man reprimanded me and my avoidance tactics. "Sit still. Or do you want a crooked nose for the rest of your life?" Now that is a difficult question. Pain? Or a crooked nose?

Nick cleared his throat, and I glanced up to see him giving me a look my dad would give me. The type of look that said, "Quit being a baby." Or, maybe it meant "Hurry up; I'm tired of waiting on you." Dang his hard-to-read face!

I paused and bit my lip. My eyes actually flickered between the door and the doctor. I could probably make a run away easily.

I shook my head over my immaturity and I took a shaky breath, steadying myself on the examination table.

"Okay," I squeaked and squeezed my eyes shut when the doctor placed his hands on my nose.

"I'm going to count to three," the doctor stated. I nodded, shaking all over, and waited for the imminent pain.

"One."

Goodbye world.

"Two."

Allison, Adam, you guys can have all of my CDs.

"Three."

_CRACK!_

"_HOLY MOTHER OF-_"

Believe me, the sentence continued and at the same ear-splitting volume. If the old guy wasn't deaf before, he is now. And Nick? His extremely wide eyes told me the loud noises emitting from my mouth scared him, but who gives a _crap_. I just experienced a butt-load of pain; Nick can deal with it. Imagine someone ripping your nose off at an awkward angle…and multiply it by three. Got it?

Thus ends my trip to the hospital.

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After an uneventful drive back to school parking lot, the sun had already set and the clock in the Camaro now read 7:00. All of my screaming in pain had tuckered me out so our uneventful drive was also a quiet drive. Well, except when my parents called in hysterics, wondering where I was. After the complicated call ended, the rest of the drive_ then_ went by in silence. I don't think either Nick or I minded, though, because it didn't feel awkward. There was the occasional comment on a random song playing, but other than that; peace and quiet.

Nick drove into the parking lot, and pulled up beside my car; a car which paled in comparison to the shiny, red Camaro beside it.

"Are you okay to drive home?" Nick asked as I opened the door.

"Yeah, I'm good," I said, gingerly touching the tape on my nose. "Thanks for the offer, though." I stepped out of the vehicle, and walked to the back of it, getting my bags from the back seat. But, before I left for my car, I definitely had to show my gratitude.

"Thank you for being my chauffer today, Nick," I said with a ghost of a smile because, anything bigger would hurt. "I know I wasn't grateful at all when I thought I was being kidnapped, but now I know have a lotto thank you for."

"It's no problem," he said, shaking his head sincerely. "And, I'm sorry this whole day didn't go the way you planned." Does this guy always act like the whole world rests on his shoulders?

I waved my hands in front of me and shook my head, "Whoa. As I said before, _none _of this is your fault. Everything that happened today was pure coincidence…pure, _painful _coincidence."

Nick's mouth opened, and he looked like he was about to say something else, but I really did not want to hear another apology come from him.

"Nick," I stated with finality. "Forget about it. Thanks for the ride. See you around." With that said, I grinned at the semi-shocked expression from the boy and closed the back door. I slung my bag on my back and walked to my car.

I turned the ignition on and felt the familiar rumble of my Corrolla, not to mention the familiar tune of "Bohemian Rhapsody" playing through my speakers. Before putting my car in reverse I glanced out my side window and saw the red Camaro still parked beside me. A chuckle escaped my lips when I realized what Nick was doing.

He was making sure I got out of the parking lot okay.

Another note to self: Allison has great taste in guys.

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"I'm home!" I called out once I entered my house. I really did not expect my parents to have already been waiting by the front door. When I walked in, they scared the crap out of me.

"Jane!" My mother exclaimed, engulfing me in a bear hug. I then had no more air in my lungs.

"Mom," I choked out, trying to push the woman off of me. Dang her strong arms!

"We were so worried!" My father added in the same tone of the person crushing me…and then he decided to turn the already painful hug into a group hug.

"ACK! Stop it!" I love hugs; they're great. This, however, is ridiculous. I struggled again.

What is it with me and struggling today…?

"Sorry, dear," I heard my mom apologize as she graciously let me go along with my dad. "Let me look at you."

I stood uncomfortably under my parents' gaze as they basically stared in horror at my nose. After the doctor straightened and bandaged my nose, I finally got up the courage to take a look in a regular mirror. Instead of looking like a "Z," it now just looked like somebody painted my nose black and blue and stuck medical tape on there for fun.

"Are you guys going to stare all day? Because I have homework…not to mention I'm so hungry I could eat an entire buffet." I had to start on my horrifying French poem, and my stomach had continuously growled for the past three hours. Nick had offered to stop somewhere to eat, but I really couldn't put him through any more trouble. I'm sure the Jonas member had a busy evening schedule anyways, like most celebrities usually did. You know, I'm actually surprised the Lucas brothers had _time _to go to a regular school and share their music with the entire world altogether.

Oh wait, my mom's saying something.

"Jane? Did you hear me?" My mom asked with concern. "The doctor didn't drug you up did he?"

I shook my head with a laugh, "No, he didn't. He gave me a prescription, but it's nothing major. What were you saying?"

"She wondered who drove you to the hospital," my dad explained, gathering my school bags up in his arms. "You never told us on the phone. We assumed it was either Adam or Allison, but you just pulled into the driveway all by yourself."

This will be fun to explain.

"Funny story actually," I laughed again, but when I saw the serious expressions on my parents' faces, I shut up. Geez, they hadn't even heard the story yet. "Adam and Allison were busy with things they had no control over. Nick Lucas drove me…" Wow, that statement sounded weird but strangely easy to say. I also expected a more grandiose reaction from my parents.

My mom put a finger up to her mouth out of concentration, "Nick Lucas? For some reason the name sounds very familiar."

My dad nodded in agreement, "Yeah…I think I saw his name somewhere in the newspaper this morning."

I snorted out loud, catching my parents off guard. "Sorry, but your obliviousness to teen pop culture amuses me." Unfortunately, my remark did not amuse them. I guess I'm not as funny as I thought. "Anyways…" I continued, though in a more depressed manner, "Nick Lucas is the boy in the platinum-selling album band, JONAS."

Recognition finally appeared in my parents eyes, and they both laughed excitedly.

"Wow," my dad breathed, throwing an arm around my shoulders, "I didn't know you had it in you, Jane. Asking a famous musician to drive you to the hospital."

"I can't believe you dragged Nick of Jonas all the way to the hospital," my mom put her face in her hands, laughing incredulously, but then her face turned serious. "That is no way to treat someone, Jane."

I shrugged my dad's arm off in a huff, "He and his crazy brothers were the ones who _dragged _me. I had no choice in the matter." Was it so hard to believe I was the victim during a crisis? Apparently so, because my parents had skeptical expressions etched onto their faces. "Fine, don't believe me. I barely believe how my day went either. I'm just going to go and collapse on my bed and sulk, okay?"

My dad brought my stuff upstairs, and my mom told me she would make me some comfort food (which usually involved pancakes drenched in syrup). I plopped down on my bed, and just lay there, staring face up for a few moments. I mostly recollected everything that happened today, and what a day it was.

Actually, I probably shouldn't say "was," something else could happen.

And, of course, my cell phone rings after I think that.

I groaned and rolled over, snatching my cell phone out of my purse which lay by my bed. Ah, it's Allison. I flipped my phone open and rested the receiver against my ear.

"Tell me everything," the blonde's voice immediately ordered.

"I'm fine, by the way," I answered flatly. "Thanks for asking."

"What?" Allison asked defensively. "If you weren't fine, you wouldn't bother answering your phone." Dang, she knows me well.

I sighed, "Nothing exciting happened…well, when I cursed the world after I got my nose straightened, I did see some very comical faces from Nick and the doctor."

I heard Allison laugh on the other line, "Nothing too bad, I hope."

I winced when I remembered a few words that had popped out of my mouth, "If I got Nick Lucas to show some emotion, I think it was pretty bad." I could see it on the news: _Nick Lucas was put in a mental institution from bearing witness to a frightening girl screaming every curse word ever invented._ The sad part to that thought was that it had a high probability of actually happening.

"I heard he was kind of stoic in that way, it's kind of sexy," Allison mused and I wanted to laugh at her awkward use of the word "sexy." It sounded like a foreign word to her.

I decided to give her all of the details about the drive to and from the hospital; how Nick and I listened to music…which is all we really did. So my feedback only lasted five minutes.

"That's all?" Allison asked, sounding disappointed. I kind of felt bad for my friend and her nervousness on having a first crush. I wish I could help her more, but the fates were against me today. At least I tried.

"Yeah," I mumbled, but then brightly added, "However, I now know that Nick likes strawberry smoothies, and that he is a perfect gentleman!" Not much information, but I considered the latter very helpful. "So, if you wanted to talk to him, he definitely wouldn't ignore you. You should try it Allison."

I heard silence on the other end. I probably scared the poor girl by mentioning such an "impossible"task. I put a hand to my forehead and sighed. "You know…you will eventually have to talk to him. I tried getting information, I really did, but I think the best results will come from _you _talking to _him_."

"I know," I heard Allison finally mutter. "But, how?"

"You say 'hi,'" I stated slowly. "Trust me, it works."

Another pause followed, but Allison did eventually mumble something along the lines of, "Okay."

I pumped my fist in the air and sat up on my bed with a smile. "Alright! You can do it! Don't wor-"

"If you come with me."

My fist fell down limply along with the rest of my body, "Why don't you ask Adam?" I whined. Not that I didn't want to help her or anything, but after my episode at the hospital I think Nick would prefer not to see or hear me talk any time soon. "I think Nick and him have gym together anyway-"

"No!" Allison blurted out, making me jump a little.

"Why not?" I asked incredulously. "You and Adam are friends, and he would most likely do it for you. That guy can never say no to you, for some reason." It's true, and so unfair. Adam may be the nicest person alive, but even he refuses to do something for me sometimes. Allison, on the other hand, he would do anything for her. If she needs someone to go to the store with her late at night, Adam does it. If she needs a yoga partner, he goes with her (after I say no to her quite vehemently). Heck, if Allison needed to go to France, Adam would probably rent a private jet just to get her there. Adam does favors for me when I need them the most, but with Allison, there's something different…something more substantial.

I wonder why.

There was a nervous clearing of the throat on the receiver, and I frowned. "What's wrong?"

"Um…Adam and I aren't…speaking…at the moment," Allison said, sounding like she had a bad taste in her mouth.

My jaw went slack. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me, Jane," Allison answered roughly. "We got into a fight while we waited by your car after school. We were talking about how our day went, and then out of _nowhere _Adam says I should find someone else to like. I told him to mind his own business when it concerned someone I liked, and then he tells me it _is _his business…and then you get dragged out of the school by two-thirds of JONAS."

My mouth was now wide open, "_What _is his problem?!"

"I've never seen him like this before, so I have no idea. But, obviously this is all somehow my fault," Allison said, actually sounding confused, hurt, concerned, and angry all at the same time.

Who does Adam think he is? He told me he was fine earlier today, and then acts like a complete jerk to Allison! I am so confused _and _furious. I never thought I'd want to hit Mr. Smiley in the face, but right now I could do with Macy "accidentally" dropping a baseball bat on his face. She does owe me one after all.

"You know what? Forget Adam," I said with new determination. I was going to get Nick and Allison together if it killed me! "I'll go with you to talk to Nick tomorrow, and you two are going to hit it off so well that he will- he will…um, I don't know what Nick will do, but I'm sure that it's going to be amazing!"

Sometimes I really wish I would think things through.

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"Okay, there's your target," I said to Allison in a spy voice, as we peeked around a corner in the school hallway. The Lucas brothers appeared to be having a normal conversation with each other.

Or as normal a conversation can get when Kevin suddenly danced for five seconds…

Oh well, who doesn't love a five second dance party?

Oh, apparently Nick doesn't. If looks could kill…

"Are you ready?" I asked in anticipation.

"No," Allison breathed out.

"Too bad." I grabbed the petite girl's arm and dragged her from behind the corner. If I didn't force her, we both knew she wouldn't budge.

"Nonononononono!" Allison hissed rapidly, and pulled back. Unfortunately, her height was no match for me.

I hope no onlooker mistook me for dragging a little kid around…because that embarrassing occurrence has already happened. My parents definitely did not appreciate getting a call from the principal explaining their daughter might need psychiatric help.

Pfft, as if I'm crazy-

Oh look! There's a smudge on the wall that so looks like the Kool-aid man! I wrote a song about him once…

Right, back to pulling Allison against her will towards the Lucas brothers.

"Hey, Nick!" I called out, ignoring the many colorful words firing out of Allison's mouth as I dragged her with me. I smiled when I saw the three boys acknowledge me.

I immediately frowned when Joe and Kevin flinched at what I knew was my face. Yeah, I am embarrassed to have a huge bandage covering the middle of my face and then go to school where everyone can see it. I can't do anything about it, though, so I'll let Joe and Kevin's reaction slide…this time.

Allison had given up struggling, and now hid behind me.

"Hi," Nick greeted with a nod and a ghost of a grin. His brow furrowed slightly when he noticed an extra pair of legs behind mine.

"Hey," I said, trying to hold back a laugh when I heard Allison muttering behind me. I would have loved to continue the short round of amused glances from Kevin, Nick, and Joe, but I had a purpose. I grinned and spun around, pushing Allison in front of me. The poor girl looked like a deer caught in the headlights, but I wouldn't stand for silence between her and her crush.

Wow…either Allison shrank a few inches, or I just never noticed how tall Nick actually stood; or the other brothers for that matter. My friend resembled a child with her three older brothers scolding her because everyone literally towered over her.

Huh, Nick's even taller than me.

Why do I keep smiling about this?

"Nick," I snapped out of my strange thoughts, and gestured to the frozen blond standing in front of me, "This is one of my best friends, Allison Harris."

I had hoped for a better reaction from Allison other than a squeak.

"Nice to meet you," Nick politely extended his hand towards Allison who stared at the limb dumbly. I nudged her which jolted the girl out of her stupor. She shakily put her hand in Nick's and shook it.

Perfect. I'm a genius. I can already hear the music of love! Wait. Never mind, that was the alarm on my phone.

"Likewise," Allison said quietly and immediately let go of his hand. There, now a beautiful relationship can develop-

Wait a minute, why is she backing away?

Allison had looked down and started to move away, confusing me and the Lucas brothers. Wasn't she going to stay and _talk _to her crush? I gave her a questioning stare, but the girl never looked up, but I swore her face turned as red as my hair.

Aw, adorable! Even if she just embarrassed herself by running away…and totally left me as the person who would receive the uncomfortable stares.

Allison and I are going to have a chat in the near future concerning her lack of communication skills.

"What's an elementary school girl doing in this school?" Joe questioned after a long pause.

Kevin gasped, "Maybe she's a genius! A _prodigy_."

I cleared my throat and glared at Joe and Kevin who looked like they were totally in the moment. The only people who were allowed to make fun of Allison's height were either me or Adam. "She's sixteen…" And definitely not a genius.

What? It's the truth. I was nice enough not to say it out loud, so give me credit.

"No way!" Joe exclaimed, earning a nudge from Nick.

"Remember what I said about not talking?" the youngest Lucas said pointedly to his older brothers.

Joe scoffed, "You only tell it to us _all _the time."

"There's a reason, trust me," Nick explained, rolling his eyes and turned back towards me. "Sorry about that. How are you?"

"I've been better," I gestured to my nose, but shrugged. "How are you?" I hope the headline I thought of earlier never made it into print.

"I've been better," the boy gestured slightly to his older brothers. Kevin and Joe didn't notice the non-verbal insult coming from Nick since Stella had arrived. She appeared to be talking animatedly about the red, silken shirt in her hands. My eyes, however, stayed on the boy flicking the curls out his eyes. This guy can't only be sixteen. He acts so mature, and even looks like he should attend college.

"You know," I started thoughtfully, catching the attention of Nick, "you act older than you really are." I noticed it the other day, and since I am on speaking terms with the guy I might as well use the opportunity to get to know him.

I can't help it…Nick Lucas is an interesting individual.

His usual, unfazed, intense expression flickered for a second. I guess he didn't expect me to make a comment as such.

"Well," Nick clicked his tongue and turned back to where his older brothers were, "I kind of have to be."

"Interesting," I mused, and yeah, it really did interest me. The youngest brother acting the most mature; one doesn't see that often.

Unfortunately, the bell rang, so I had to cut my musings short. Plus, Nick looked a tad uncomfortable from my observation. "Sorry, I can be blunt sometimes," I apologized while readjusting my book bag. "Anyways, I have to get going. The social science building is on the other side of campus." I nodded my head goodbye and decided to make a hasty exit before I made another forthright statement.

"Wait up," I heard Nick call out. I furrowed my brow and glanced back to see the youngest Lucas say a quick farewell to his brothers and Stella, and then casually make his way to my side. "I have my first period in that building. I'll walk with you."

I guess he didn't mind my observation.

"Sounds good. I always love company," I walked on and smiled as Nick and I continued chatting.

"What's your first class?" he asked.

If I hadn't known Nick was introverted in his way of speech, I would have considered him a person uninterested in anything I had to say. Luckily I knew, so I didn't let the flat tone get to me. I also hope he doesn't talk like that during his concerts…otherwise the girls on the Jonas fan sites have grossly exaggerated the fun they had.

"AP American History," I answered as we turned the corner. "I have Mr. Roberts. It's a good class, though I prefer World History."

The boy next to me nodded lightly, and I couldn't help but notice how addicting it was to watch his chocolate-brown curls bounce across his eyes. If Allison had decided not to chicken out, she could witness the same sight, I thought while mentally shaking my head in shame over my friend's spontaneous shyness.

Reluctantly removing my eyes from Nick's features (he looked my way, so I couldn't be caught staring), I decided to continue this nice conversation we were having. "What class do you have now?"

"Geography," he answered with a ghost of smile. I guess that means he really likes it.

"Is that one of your favorite classes?" I asked, noticing the slight change in demeanor. It was hard to read Nick at first, but as we talked more I found myself learning more about him.

I kind of like it.

Allison would like it too, if she stuck around more than a few seconds.

"Yeah," Nick responded, looking a little confused over my guess. I shrugged it off, and opened the main door. "You know, I think we have a class together."

I whipped my head towards him in surprise as we walked outside towards the small building to our right. "Seriously? No…I would have noticed. I know a lot of people in all of my classes. And, the girls would sigh dreamily if you were in the same class as them." Adam has gym with him, and he always tells me how distracting it is when he hears the girls on the other side cheer Nick on when he did something awesome…for example…tying his shoes can bring quite the uproar.

"I can stay low-key if I'm on my own," Nick replied, sticking his hands in his pockets. Surprisingly, he didn't seem offended over me not noticing him at all. Every time I forget to say 'hi' to either Van Dyke or Adam, they sulk like little girls. I now hold a high appreciation of this musician's maturity.

"The only class I can't go unnoticed in is gym," he continued. Is that disturbance I see in his eyes? Good grief, I guess Adam didn't over-exaggerate about gym at all.

We both entered the social science building, and Nick turned to go down a different hallway.

"Wait a sec," I stopped him, and he turned back inquisitively. "What class do we have together?" If I had a class with Nick, that would be awesome. I do like talking to him. As I said, he's interesting.

"You'll see," he replied simply with his signature grin, and walked away.

I remained standing in the hallway, not sure of anything going on around me. The people who walked by didn't even catch my attention.

There were two reasons for this:

Reason number one- Nick Lucas never answered my question.

Reason number two- That awesome grin of his kind of fried my brain for unknown reasons.

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After a short moment of gaining back my composure, I raced the rest of the way to my American History class. I plopped down in my seat just as the bell rang.

I felt a pair of eyes staring at me, but I stayed oblivious. Adam is trying to silently apologize to me. Tough cookies, man. You deserve to feel guilty; after the way you treated Allison and I for the past two days.

Adam is lucky I don't…well, I'm not that violent, so forget punching him in the face. A loud verbal attack sounds more like something I'd do.

Good plan.

"Jane," Adam started, sounding depressed.

"Adam," I responded flatly. Instead of yelling at him, I think I'll just give him the cold shoulder.

Another good plan.

Mr. Roberts started checking the role, which meant no more talking. Fine by me.

I continued to face forward in my seat, keeping my mouth shut. I opened my notebook for future class notes, but Adam obviously wanted to talk to me. He tore a sheet of paper out of his notebook, scribbled down something, and slapped the paper on my desk. The loud noise caught me off guard so I almost fell out of my seat.

Mr. Roberts gave me the teacher-glare which I, in-turn, gave to Adam. The boy simply motioned for the note he gave me. I obliged with a sigh, and read the horribly-written sentence on the note

_I need to tell you something._

The non-informative statement brought a snort from me, earning another glare from Mr. Roberts. He's a good teacher, but he hates any kind of disruption. I sent him a non-verbal apology, and turned back to Adam with a raised brow.

"Thatwas a _great_ explanatory note," I whispered sarcastically.

"Either way, can I at least explain something to you?" Adam asked quietly, almost a step away from begging.

Wanting to be enlightened about his strange behavior, I nodded my head and gave back the note. After a few moments of waiting, I glanced to his paper and saw Adam had written nothing. I looked up to his face, and saw he was contemplating seriously over what he was going to write.

Is the reason that serious?

I began to worry, and my imagination went into overdrive.

Is Adam dying from a serious illness that he forgot to mention until now? Is he moving, and the distress from leaving Allison and I caused him to have a mental breakdown? Or, did he commit a serious crime in which case the police have finally found out it was him, and he's going to go to jail for the rest of his life-

Oh, Adam handed back the note. Sigh, it's another single sentence response. That kid really needs to work on communicating-

_I'm in love with Allison._

Eh?

Let's read it again. My eyes must be playing tricks on me.

_I'm in love with Allison._

…

Eh?

…

WHAT?

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"You're in _love _with Allison?" I whispered frantically to Adam as we left American History. My brain had fried (yet again) after I finally comprehended what the note meant. I now had my speech back, and I latched onto my friend as we made our way to AP Statistics.

"Sorry I never told you," Adam apologized with a pained expression.

"It's fine," I said incredulously. How could I have not seen it? Adam and Allison have been my best friends for years, and I never noticed the change in the boy walking next to me. "How long have you liked her?!"

"Since the beginning of summer," he admitted, looking around him and making sure no one listened in on our conversation.

My mouth dropped open, but closed again when we entered our math classroom. We took our usual seat in the back, and I continued to gaze at Adam with a dumbfounded expression. Though, I did take a millisecond break to see if AP Statistics was the class Nick attended without my knowing.

Nope, no Nick.

And yeah, I'm a tad disappointed.

I continued staring at Adam with the same attitude as before.

Four months, and I never noticed…does that make me a terrible friend?

Well, if it doesn't make me a terrible friend, then my trying to set up Allison with Nick _does_.

"I'm sorry," I said with my head in my hands, but I heard an extra voice say the same thing. Adam and I had apologized simultaneously. We laughed lightly, and everything between us felt normal again…or as normal as it was going to get.

Except for the extreme confusion building up in my mind and in my heart. I made a quick, mental diary entry.

_Dear self,_

_You have two awesome friends. One is in love with the other, but the other is in love with someone else. Do I set up the other with that someone else…or do I set up the one who is in love with the other with the other?!_

God help me.

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Of course there's a twist, muahahahahaha! Oh the drama. Anyways, I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter. Nick and Jane are becoming friends! Huzzah!! And, I wonder what class they have together…? Hmmmm… ;)

Please review so I know people are actually reading this and actually like it.

Next chapter should come out tomorrow or maybe later tonight... I already wrote it, I just need to review it. Everything is going to be in moderation.


	4. Memories, French, and Inspiration

Seriously, I love everyone who bothered to review and thank you so much for the encouragement. I love writing, and I'm glad you guys like my writing.

By the way, who else is sad that there will be no more new JONAS episodes for a while? Because…sigh…I am. I hope JB continues doing the show for another season because I never really liked them until I watched the show. Anyways, enough about that.

Please review so I know what you guys think!

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the song titles mentioned in this chapter, except for my little verse at the end.

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Okay, I still have no idea how to handle my predicament. Should I tell Allison about Adam's feelings? No…I shouldn't…but, is Adam ever going to act on his feelings? Does Allison even like Adam like that? Argh! I don't know! My nose hurts, Adam and Allison are both depressed for different reasons, and I still don't know which class Nick is in with me!

_SLAM!_

Note to self: Pay more attention to your surroundings…or you will run into other open doors besides the current one.

"Jane! Are you okay?!" I heard a familiar female voice ask in high-pitched concern. I shook my head and gingerly touched my throbbing nose. After biting my tongue, trying not to scream out in pain, I turned stiffly towards the voice.

Oh, it's Macy.

"I'm just spectacular," I groaned, finally calmed down. "Stupid door."

"Yeah, sometimes the teachers leave them open…so students can get into their classrooms…for class…," Macy said, unsure if her statement comforted me or made me feel like an idiot.

Definitely the latter.

"Thanks Macy," I answered dead beat.

"No problem," she piped up and clapped me on the back, almost knocking my glasses off. The school definitely did not over exaggerate the all-star's strength. "So, I was thinking…"

"Thinking about what?" I asked warily. I was heading toward my last class of the day, and my day had not turned any better than yesterday. I don't think I could handle another surprising bit of information.

The girl walked in step beside me with an innocent smile, "I owe you for the medical bill, so I thought-"

"It's okay, my family has insurance," I cut in seriously. I hate debt, so I don't want anyone to experience it.

"Well, I want to. Work with me here," Macy continued in the same tone. "I'm going to a JONAS concert in a few weeks, and I have an extra ticket! You're going with me!"

"I am?" I asked, and then I saw how excited the girl acted. Macy bounced around on the balls of her feet and looked at me with the most innocent expression that no child with a teddy bear could ever match. I ended up giving in to her bubble of happiness and couldn't help but join in with JONAS's number one fan in her excitement. Though, I refused to bounce around in the school hallway.

I highly doubt she would take a "no" either.

"I guess I am." I grinned. "Thanks Macy. Give me some more info when the time comes around."

"Totally!" the girl exclaimed, and then said her goodbyes. She had bowling practice as her last class.

_BAM!_

I whirled around toward the source of the noise, and my eyes met the sight of Kevin Lucas grunting in pain as he hopped around on one foot. Macy frantically apologized over and over again.

"Not again!" Macy cried out, trying to help the wobbling Lucas stand upright.

I pretended not to notice and started to walk fast to my last class.

I walked the rest of the way to class in a much better mood. The concert sounded like fun, especially since I had never been to a JONAS concert before, _and _I even know the performers. How awesome is that?

Maybe I should buy some of their songs off of iTunes to get an idea of what their music's like. I'm not much of a radio person, so I don't even know if I've heard one of their songs before. Maybe Allison already has some I can listen to…

I entered the French classroom, and rolled my eyes at Van Dyke's applause.

"Yes, my face looks great, I know," I responded with sarcasm, and sat down in the front with a scowl.

"Just kidding, Jane," my cousin called from the back.

"I know; the whole class heard you," I muttered. I looked to my right, and saw Adam hadn't arrived yet. Oh yeah, during lunch he told me that his grandma called again, and he had to skip last period to go help her move more stuff from her house to that retirement home.

I guess I'm on my own in French.

How boring.

"Told you we had a class together," a soft voice interrupted my lonely thoughts.

I turned towards Adam's seat and widened my eyes, because the person sitting in Adam's seat was definitely not Adam.

"Nick?" I asked in surprise. "You take AP French?" I never noticed him? Great, I never noticed Adam's love for Allison, and now I never noticed Nick Lucas and I had French together. What next? I find out I have a brother because I never _noticed _him?

The famous musician appeared amused in his own way and nodded…and again I noticed his curls bouncing lightly across his eyes…

"I started out with Latin, but they cancelled the class when I was the only person who had signed up for it," he explained. "So, here I am."

"Imagine that," I laughed, but a thought crossed my mind. "Wait a minute, we did presentations on Monday, and I definitely did not see you make a fool of yourself."

"No, I was there," he explained, "And I presented- without making a fool of myself, by the way…but I think you hid your face in embarrassment the entire time after your turn."

"Excuse me while I do it again." I hid my flustered face in my arms. He witnessed my horrible presentation? Good grief, poor guy.

I heard a faint chuckle, and I lifted my head to where my eyes could only peak over my arms. Yeah, the grin was back. "I'm glad my lack of foreign language skills didn't emotionally scar you." I raised my body into a proper sitting position again.

"No, but your fiasco at the hospital came close," Nick admitted. "Are you a singer? Because I have never heard a pair of lungs like yours."

I cringed. He had to bring up the hospital didn't he. I shook my head, "I like to sing, but only if no one else is around."

I heard some giggling behind me. I turned around and saw some girls in the back making eyes at the handsome boy sitting next to me…I rolled my eyes. Talking _about_ someone instead of _to_ someone doesn't get you anywhere.

For some reason, those girls irritated me…and I don't even know them.

Luckily (or unluckily, I don't know), Madame Love walked into the room with her usual French greeting. I heard Nick actually respond to the greeting.

"_Trés bien_," the boy next to me said, and be still my heart, it actually sounded French.

Madame Love paused to look at Nick, and her eyes brightened. "_Pourquoi vous font trés bien, Nicholas_?" The instructor loves it when her students speak the beautiful language that is French…and say it properly. (Translation: Why are you doing well, Nicholas?)

The student in question's face tinted a slight red, but the whole class remained silent, wanting to hear his answer; especially the girls in the back. After a short pause, Nick cleared his throat. "_Parce que j'ai une nouvelle amie_."

My mouth almost dropped open again. The talented musician was also a genius! He barely paused before he responded to Madame Love. Is Nick Lucas perfect? Apparently the girls in the back thought so because all I heard were dreamy sighs. I stuck with staring at the boy in amazement.

"Wow," I breathed quietly. "Green with jealousy over here."

The red tinge remained on Nick's face, and I almost laughed…I tend to laugh at adorable things. It's my strange way of showing how I think the adorable things are adorable.

"Jane," I jumped, and saw Madame Love giving me a mischievous smile. "_Veuillez traduire phrase de Nicholas pour moi, s'il vous_ _plait_." (Translation: Please translate Nicholas' sentence for me.)

I froze, having no idea what my teacher just said. "_Quoi?_" I asked. (Translation: What?) One of the few French words that have stuck with me. Trust me, if you take a foreign language, learn "What?" early, or you will be lost forever.

I didn't notice, but Nick leaned just a fraction closer to me, whispering in a barely audible voice, "Say 'he made a new friend.'" I flicked my eyes back and forth from Nick to Madame Love. Did I hear him right? Did he just whisper the answer in my ear?

And, why did it get so hot all of a sudden?!

"_I-Il a dit_…he made a new friend," I said slowly, unsure if I heard Nick right. (Translation: He said…)

Madame Love lost the mischievous spark in her eyes, and looked completely shocked. "_B-Bon…_" She turned away from the class, and walked towards the board to write out tomorrow's assignment. (Translation: Good.)

Nick just saved me from further embarrassment in AP French. That's it, our friendship is sealed…and…

Am I the person he talked about to Madame Love?

"Hey," I whispered to Nick, who had his eyes focused on writing down the assignment on the board. He turned his head a little bit towards me, indicating he was listening.

"Am I your 'new friend'?" I asked.

It took a moment for him to respond, seeing as he was finishing his writing, but he eventually answered me…

With not a grin…but an _actual _smile. "You finally figured it out?" he asked softly.

"Uh…" I said dumbly. Oh no! My brain is fried again! Blast!

That _smile…_is not human. There is no way, _no way_, anyone could come up with a perfect smile and leave me absolutely breathless. No one has ever been able to leave me breathless. Speechless, yes, but to lose the ability to breathe pushed it. I can't even describe the way this guy's lips curled slightly at the ends and revealed his flawless teeth at the same time, but there it was, right in front of me. I shook my head, trying to come up with a normal response.

Let's try this again, "…uh…"

Dang it.

No wonder the guy never smiles! It is life threatening!

Madame Love chose that moment to lecture again, and it would probably be the only time I appreciated it.

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I refrained from speaking throughout the rest of the class. I did finally catch my breath again, though. So, that's good news.

The bell rang, and I turned toward Nick, who had his head stuck in his text book. He appeared to be memorizing the new words we learned today. Ironically, we focused on musical terms in class. I then remembered the poem assigned yesterday, and wondered if his poem would focus on music.

I reached a hand over and knocked lightly on his desk. Nick looked up from his text book with an inquisitive air about him. "Yes?"

"What are you going to do for your poem?" I asked, nodding to Van Dyke as he left the classroom and a few other people who passed by.

Nick closed his textbook, looking thoughtful. "Writing music. A close second is sports." Ah, so he's into sports…Allison is _not _into sports. I might want to tell her that later.

I wonder if he likes Ultimate Frisbee.

"What about you?"

"I have no idea," I muttered as I got from my seat, slinging my bag around my shoulder. "Well…maybe something about friendship. Oh! Yeah, that's a good one." I mentally congratulated myself on finding my topic within a span of two seconds.

"Sounds great," the musician across from me nodded in approval. He then glanced at the clock on the teacher's desk, and bit his lip. "I'm going to be late for rehearsal with the guys. I'll see you tomorrow, I guess."

I grinned and walked past him. "You said we're friends, so I _expect_ to see you tomorrow." We said our goodbyes to each other as we exited the classroom.

I guess today wasn't so terrible after all.

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"How did my conversation with Nick go?!" Allison asked frantically as both of us walked to my car. We were both going to go over to my house since her mother had to work late. That's what happens when you're a lawyer, or so I hear.

I looked at my friend like she had gone insane. "Excuse me? How did your _conversation_ go? There was no conversation! You said 'hi' and ran away! That is _not _a good first impression!" I stomped the rest of the way to the car.

Allison crossed her arms and mumbled, "You _told _me to say 'hi'."

I shook my head with a glare, "No. I told you to say 'hi' as a way to start off the conversation. You chickened out; end of story."

"It's not easy, you know?! I've never liked a guy before, and you expect me to just walk up and talk to him like we're old buddies. I can't because I have no idea what to say to him. You and Adam are the only people I talk to at school," the petite girl snapped in one breath. Students walking by gave us strange glances, but they just waved it off. Fights with friends happened all the time. But, I decided to tone my voice down anyway.

"Yeah, and you need to remedy that."

"It's been working out great so far!"

I closed my eyes in frustration as I got in my car. When Allison sat in the passenger seat, I slowly shook my head. I remembered when I first met Allison, and believe me…it wasn't pretty.

Adam and I had already known each other since elementary school and Allison sort of fell into our lives in the seventh grade. Literally…

_Adam and I were waiting on our parents to pick us up from school. I complained about school work as usual, and Adam smiled and nodded as usual._

"_I can't believe Mr. Elery gave us homework on a Friday." Mr. Elery, our math teacher._

"_Look on the bright side," Adam piped in, bouncing on his feet. "We get to do our homework together! You can come over and try my mom's homemade fudge!"_

"_Fudge?" I asked dreamily, homework forgotten. I felt my mouth water up, but something running into my behind caught me off guard, interrupting my hopes and dreams of Adam's mom's awesome homemade fudge._

_Adam caught me before I fell flat on my face. I uttered my thanks, and whipped around to see what caused me to lose my balance. I saw a tiny girl sprawled on the ground, her books and papers strewn all over the pavement…and a group of older boys behind her, laughing hard._

_I immediately lost any anger I had towards the girl, and helped her up. Adam scrambled around the curb, trying to get all of her school supplies before the wind would blow everything away._

"_Are you alright?" I asked, dusting the gravel off of her shoulders. Surprisingly, she glared at me and shrugged my hands off. _

"_I'm fine and I don't need your help!" she snapped, and stomped over to Adam, and snatched her belongings out of his helpful hands with a scowl._

_While I stared in shock at her temper, I saw the guys behind her laughing in a taunting manner. _

"_Hey Tiny! If you grow a few feet taller, maybe everyone else would notice you!"_

"_Forget that, man. Nobody would want to hang out with a witch like her."_

"_Yeah, I even heard her Dad hated her so much, he had to leave-"_

"_Why don't you jerks shut up," Adam interrupted with a cold stare, standing in between the girl with a hurt expression and the mocking bullies. "You say she's mean, yet you're the ones making fun of her!"_

_I gaped at my friend in disbelief. Adam looked so angry; so angry that the three bullies backed off (muttering a few curses, of course). Once the three boys stalked off, Adam turned towards the short girl with a sheepish grin._

"_Don't pay attention to them," he said, back in his light mood. "I'm Adam, by the way. And, this is my best friend Jane." The boy gestured toward me, and the girl actually followed his gesture and looked at me with a confused expression._

"_Hey," I said, unsure of how to act around this new person. Earlier, she didn't seem too keen on talking to anyone else. Then again, she was being bullied..._

"_Hi," she mumbled. She put her head down and appeared to be contemplating something very hard. _

_Adam and I waited in silence as the girl tried to find something to say to her saviors. _

"_Th-thank you," we heard her whisper and then she brought her head up to show us how embarrassed she looked. "I-I'm Allison. Allison Harris. I just moved here."_

The rest is history. After that moment, Allison talked to us more and more each day and we got to know the real her. I am grateful to have a friend like her.

But, right now her difficult behavior made it hard for me to remember the good times.

As I drove to my house, I flicked my eyes over to her brooding self. I sighed and said what needed to be said. "I know it's hard for you to talk to somebody you like; especially if you don't know the person. But, you have to realize that you're going to meet a variety of people throughout your life, and you are going to have to talk to them, not shake their hands and run away."

I really feel like my mother at the moment…

Allison sighed and nodded, "I know, Jane. Just let me get used to it first."

I smiled and then I couldn't resist saying, "Such a tender moment between friends." I pretended to be overcome with emotion as Allison muttered a few insults in my direction.

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"No way!" Allison gasped as she ate some chocolate from my secret stash in my bedroom. "You got invited to a JONAS concert, Nick sat by you in French, _and _he whispered an answer to you?! So lucky!"

I had just revealed my entire day to her as we ate junk food. I lay on the floor with my feet propped up on the bed while Allison sat at my computer desk, looking up some JONAS songs on YouTube.

I laughed at how excited the girl acted over my interaction with Nick Lucas. "Well, yeah. Lucky I didn't embarrass myself in front of my class again. I must say, though, for a first crush…you know how to pick them."

Allison wiped some invisible dust off of her shoulder in a cocky manner and went back to her search. "Yeah, unfortunately Adam doesn't share your opinion."

I froze at the mention my other friend's name. I had completely forgotten about him until then. I remained silent as I replayed his confession from earlier.

Gosh, he loves Allison and here I am supporting her for another guy…

What am I going to do?

The girl in question bounced once in her seat, interrupting my worries and beckoned me to listen.

"Here's one of their songs," Allison said in her own way of excitement. She turned the volume all the way up on my HP laptop, and pressed the play button for the music video to appear. "It's called "Burnin' Up" and it is one of my favorites!"

I decided to leave the thoughts of my dilemma behind when the song began to play. I heard the opening solo, and furrowed my brow.

"That doesn't sound like Nick."

"It's Joe, but Nick has an awesome solo in the middle." Allison said quickly.

I continued to listen, and I must admit; it impressed me that a group of guys still in high school could come up with something sounding that mature. I mean, yeah, there were better songs out there…but this sounded pretty good.

Then my review of 'pretty good' changed to _amazing_ when I heard Nick sing his solo in the middle. Allison did not exaggerate at all.

_Walk in the room all I can see is you!  
Oh, you're starin' me down; I know you feel it too…_

When the song ended, I found myself wanting to rewind the video to the middle where Nick Lucas sang those two lines of lyrics. The emotion he put into those words completely caught me off guard…and I liked it…

I always love surprises when music is involved.

"So? Pretty good, huh?" Allison swiveled around in the chair, grinning. Her grin disappeared, though. "Why do you have that goofy smile on your face?"

I jumped, and felt my face heat up. Why _did_ I have a goofy smile on my face? I shook my head, trying to get rid of the heat which built up in the middle. It must be my nose acting up again. Yeah… "I-I just thought it was a really good song," I laughed nervously. I didn't lie, but for some reason the answer still didn't feel right.

Weird.

"What's next?" I asked, changing the subject. I got up off of the floor to look at all the videos the band had on YouTube.

They had a lot…

Allison dropped my strange behavior and turned back to the screen. She scrolled down the page until she paused the scrolling and clicked on a video that said "Give Love a Try." But, the song didn't look like it had been officially released yet.

"What's that?" I asked.

"Somebody recorded Nick playing an original song for his ex-girlfriend, Penny, and it is _so _good. You have to hear it."

"Somebody recorded a very private moment between Nick and his ex-girlfriend?" I asked in disbelief. Poor guy. Can't even get a moment's peace when trying to serenade someone.

A simple guitar melody then flowed through my ears. Just a guitar and nothing else; but, there something about the simple melody never got old. The same chords strung over and over again ran together so well. Then, Nick started to sing…and again, I felt like he was pouring his soul out to me. I risked a glance at the video to see what his face told me as he sang the climax of the song. I didn't do so before because…well…the song was meant for Penny and no one else, so why should I witness the romantic moment when it was not meant for my eyes?

Once my glance saw the intense expression on Nick's face, my heart pumped faster, and I felt chills run down my back as I saw the boy basically pouring his soul out to the girl of his dreams. The song came to a close, and I stood frozen in my original position, staring at the computer.

"_Wow_," I breathed out. "That was beautiful…"

"I know," Allison sighed towards the computer screen.

"Why did Nick break up with Penny?" I asked. If someone had written a song like that for me, I would expect that person to stick around.

"It was the other way around, actually," Allison said, frowning. "Nick wrote the song while she still had a boyfriend; Jimmy. Jimmy didn't like it, so Penny broke up with him and started going out with Nick, but…she never really did get over Jimmy."

My jaw dropped, "What? No wonder he writes such great songs…" The simple, yet beautiful melody of "Give Love a Try" played through my head repetitively, and suddenly, a spark of inspiration hit me. I dug through my nightstand and pulled out my lyric notebook, and started scribbling out a verse.

"Jane, what are you doing?" Allison asked me with a strange stare.

"I got an idea for a song!" I exclaimed with a huge smile. "I don't know. I heard Nick's song and all these ideas started springing up in my mind."

"But, you never write serious songs," Allison said with a furrowed brow. "You always write something like, "Pancakes and Syrup," or "Madame Love isn't Love."

"Shut up," I muttered and went back to my notebook. She's right, though. I never write serious songs because I never had an inspiration to write one. Listening to Nick Lucas sing "Give Love a Try" gave me the push I needed, however.

I read what I had so far, which was just one verse, but I still liked it.

_I walked the streets_

_Listening to everything_

_Wondering if now's the time, _

_To show these feelings of mine._

Allison read over my shoulder and snorted. "Wow, I didn't know you had it in you, Jane. This sounds like a girl in love wrote it."

"It _is_ about a girl in love; it's the story of the girl in love. Or, the beginning of one at least," I stated. "It's just in first-person instead of third-person." I read through the verse again and felt pride swell in me. "I wonder what kind of tune would go well with it." I leaned over my bed and opened my guitar case which, I am ashamed to admit, had dust all over it. I barely ever play, but I know the basics.

I strummed through a few chords, and Allison even decided to help me.

Allison left around 8:00, and I still remained messing around with my guitar, trying to find the perfect note(s) to play. Both of us tried to find it, but nothing ever sounded right. I tried major and minor chords, or just individual notes. The answer even now eluded me.

"I'll just head to the music room before class starts," I whispered to myself. I have ventured there numerous times, trying out the piano or even the timpani. I liked the solitude the room provided. Maybe in a different setting, I would find the right notes…and maybe I would write another verse. If the inspiration hit me, that is.

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Oh Jane…you are just clueless. Well, I hope everyone had a good read.

Hopefully, there will be only a one day wait for chapter five. I'm still working on it, but I am almost done.

Please review!! Tell me what you think.


	5. Unexpected Meetings

Okay, I know. Pretty short chapter and late update. That's what happens when I substitute teach. Time disappears.

Disclaimer: I do not own JONAS or anything associated with it. I do own the OCs and the two songs by Jane, though…no matter how bad they are.

Please review, by the way. Don't make me beg. My begging is pathetic.

Again, thank you so much to those who have reviewed! Hope you guys enjoy this chapter equally!

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I peeked through the practice room door, making sure no had already occupied it. The clock read 6:55, so _hopefully _no one else had the crazy idea of coming to school an hour early.

Fortunately, the room was empty, and the lonely grande piano in the middle of the room begged for me to play it. Who could resist such an ideal image?

I set my bags down by the piano stool and took a seat in front of the large instrument. I retrieved my trusty JSSNoLCRLE notebook and set it on the sheet music stand above the black and white keys. I opened it to the page where my verse stood out as the only thing written there.

I placed my hands above the keys, hoping by just doing that, I would feel some inspiration…

Nope, didn't work. My mind is still a blank slate.

I pressed a few keys in harmony because I felt stupid freezing my hands above them without playing. If someone saw me by happy chance, they would think I was mesmerized by just sitting at the piano or something along those lines.

I sighed as no inspiration appeared for either the words or the music. I checked my cell phone clock and saw I now had fifty minutes to kill before the bell. I tossed my phone back in my bag out of frustration. This hour was supposed to involve wondrous music-making, but I guess not.

Who am I kidding? I don't know how to write a love song or anything along that line. Here I sit; a sixteen year old girl with no experience in the romance department.

I flipped forlornly through my notebook for earlier songs I wrote. I'll just play some of my old songs for fun, to waste some time before class.

I ended up stopping at a song I wrote when I was eight. An uncharismatic snort came from my mouth. I had had a bad day at school when I got into a fight with a boy I absolutely detested in the second grade.

What was his name again?

I wonder how he would feel, knowing I wrote a hate song about him.

Easily pushing the thoughts of the unknown name out my mind, I snapped my fingers to get the beat in time, and began to play a light, jazzy melody on the piano. I never did originally add an accompaniment part to the song because I have only played the piano for about two years.

Did somebody just open the door?

Pfft, no. Who would come to school an hour early to use the music room besides me?

Anyways, here I go, and please take into account that this was written a LONG time ago.

_I lay in my bed,_

_Thinking in my head_

_How weird boys are_

_Yes, they really __**really**__ are._

_I wrote this song to explain_

_How much they are a pain._

_Because they are stupid, _

_Insensitive, and offensive._

_They throw dirt in your face,_

_Put your arm in a brace_

_Laugh at your mistakes,_

_Mouths never putting on the brakes._

_They put gum in your hair_

_Because they don't care._

_But, that's okay 'cause I hate them too._

_I throw dirt in their face_

_Put their arms in a brace_

_Laugh at their mistakes_

_But, my mouth will put on the brakes_

_Because boys are stupid,_

_And, girls are not-_

"Ahem," somebody interrupted me with a clearing of their throat.

I shrieked and hit the palm of my hand on the keys, causing a very awful sound to resonate throughout the room.

No one's supposed to be in here. No…not when I play and sing. Especially songs from my secret notebook!

Oh gosh, my social life is _over_. I mean, I know I'm not head cheerleader or anything, but I had a pretty nice set up here at Horace Mantis Academy.

Crapcrapcrapcrapcrapcrapcrapcrapcrap!

I slowly turned around, and my eyes widened when the person I definitely did not want to catch me singing stood right in front of me…looking like he totally caught me singing that entire song.

"Nick?" I croaked, knowing my face had turned to ash from extreme embarrassment, and partially from the fact of my heart possibly not working anymore.

The boy stood there in his always fashionable uniform consisting of a white button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up, khaki pants, and very nice, brown shoes.

So basically, a perfectly dressed, _famous_ musician had just witnessed me making a complete fool of myself.

I swear, someone could write a freaking comedy about my life.

Oh great, he looks like he's about to laugh any second.

"If my entire gender's population caused you to write a hate song, I feel like I must apologize," Nick stated while folding his arms across his chest. A smirk played on his lips, causing my ashen color to darken into a deep red. Okay, heart works again; now it's beating into overdrive. Now if only my mouth could produce a form of vocal conversation.

Come on, say something girl!

"I was a terrible writer when I was eight!" I blurted out almost to the volume of yelling. The random fact caught Nick off guard. He almost dropped the drumsticks clutched in his left hand.

Great, there went my dignity too.

And now my face is heating up even more. I wouldn't have a problem with the rising temperatures if Nick would stop gazing at me with his intense eyes. Stupid eyes. He should wear sunglasses to block out his powerful gazes. I would really appreciate it.

Before I blurt something else out on a whim, I should probably make a quick getaway-

Wait…why did Nick sit down on the same bench as me?

I eyed the boy sitting by me. Nick acted like he always did; calm and confident with amusement thrown into the mix. I used to be calm and confident, but apparently this past week wanted to ruin that part of my personality.

"What else have you written?" He asked quietly. His head nodded towards my notebook.

"N-nothing," I stuttered, wide-eyed. My urge to snatch my notebook and make a run for it came back tenfold, but it appeared that Nick thought about this beforehand. Just as I was about to grab my notebook, Nick grabbed it first.

"Wait!" I cried out, and he jumped a little.

"Can I not look at it?" he asked, disappointment flickering across his face.

Oh my gosh, Nick Lucas has his own version of the puppy-dog look. NO!

"W-well," I tried to speak and politely refuse, but the boy sitting across from me appeared to really want to read through my notebook.

"It's nothing you'd like," I muttered, turning to face the piano again in defeat. I did, however, happen to catch the smug expression which formed on the musician's face.

He really must be used to getting what he wants if he has a face like that.

I scoffed at the thought, receiving a glance from the guy in question. I played it off innocently and proceeded to mess around with the high notes on the piano quietly.

I stopped, however, when I heard a small chuckle emit from Nick.

Is he laughing at me? This thought led to me forming a frown on my lips, "I know; some of them are stupid, but could you please not laugh?"

"I'm not laughing about that," he admitted, still amused. "I'm just amazed you wrote a song about Optimus Prime. I like Transformers, too."

"You do?" I asked, in surprise. I mean, I know it's no surprise over a _guy _liking Transformers, but Nick seems like a perfectionist…and the new movie definitely was not perfect.

Huh, I guess even he has layers under his intense exterior. I continued talking about the movie a bit more. "I _loved_ the new movie, especially Optimus! Which is why I wrote a song about him…and I'm probably boring you to tears over my strange nerdish fetish." I then felt like such a geek for gushing over a fictional, alien robot.

I used to not care about these things, dang it!

Nick cleared his throat, and rubbed the back of his neck. He looks like he wants to say something…

"No, I think it's cool," he stated quietly, turning his head away suddenly.

I looked at Nick (even if he turned himself away) in astonishment. "Really?" He nodded silently, and I smiled appreciatively. "Thank you." Besides my parents and two best friends, I never revealed my songs to anyone else. I had a fear of someone laughing at me or mocking me over the subjects my lyrics were based on. I love writing songs, and Nick just said he appreciated my effort. That is considered very sweet in my books.

Nick swiveled back to his original position, and opened my notebook again. As he flipped through the pages agilely, I noticed his features continue to brighten while reading page after page.

Wow, he must really love music. It doesn't matter who wrote it; he just loves it. My heart beat faster at the realization, and I just sat there, entranced by the musician reading what I had written.

I then noticed that the flipping of the pages had stopped, and Nick's brow had furrowed in question.

"Where's the rest of this one?" One of his slender fingers tapped the page in front of him. I gazed down and noticed he had read my new song, or what I had so far of a new song.

"That one? I just started it last night."

"It's only one verse, but the song seems different than all the others," he said, fixing his gaze on me.

"You noticed," I mused. "It's different because I listened to some of your-" I immediately shut my mouth.

I can't tell Nick Lucas I listened to two of his songs and got inspired to write a love song! That would create an awkward conversation…

"My what?" he asked, totally catching what I said.

I laughed nervously and quickly continued. "Y-your songs from your iPod that I heard the other day." Phew, nice save Jane.

Nick seemed to buy it. He then sat up straight, stretching his long arms over his head. "Do you know where you're heading with it?"

I pondered over how to describe my new song, "I…I want to tell a story of a girl in love with her guy friend; from where she wonders when and how to tell him to her actually telling him."

Nick raised the palm of his hand to his chin as if in deep concentration. I copied the movement, thinking maybe I could get an idea as well.

"Songs composed as stories are the hardest to write, in my opinion," he said thoughtfully. "I've only written a few, but maybe if you write the instrumental part first, the rest will come to you."

I sighed, "That's why I've been sitting at this piano for the past half hour."

"I see," Nick mumbled, still looking very concentrated.

After a few moments of just sitting on the bench in silence, he retrieved his drumsticks and stood up.

I cocked an eyebrow. How is leaving supposed to help me?

Oh wait, he's not leaving. He sat down in front of the drum set to the right of the piano. Nick's face turned blank for moment, and then as fast as this expression appeared, it disappeared. He lifted his eyebrows quickly as if struck by inspiration and lifted his drumsticks above the toms (the two smaller drums above the bass drum) and beat out a quick, rhythmic pattern.

The playing sounds good, but…again, why is he playing the drums all of sudden?

"What are you doing?!" I half-yelled over the upbeat drum solo.

Somebody has obviously played too many rock concerts because I don't think Nick heard me. Actually, never mind, I think he did because he is smirking.

What…?

I turned back to the piano with a scowl. Stupid talented musician. He'd rather play on his drums than help me.

Huh…his playing is kind of…catchy.

Great, now my head is moving in time with the tempo. What is this guy trying to do? Prove how long he can play the drums without getting tired?

Sigh, now my foot wants to tap along with the beat.

Nick continued on with his drum solo, but it slowly, yet surely changed. I don't really know how to describe it, but I'm getting the feeling that what he's trying to play is complicated.

Complicated…hmm…

You know, love is always complicated, and my song is about the complications of a girl in love.

It's so easy, yet not…the cliché romance plot…

That rhymed.

My eyes widened after that thought and I whipped around to Nick who had a knowing smile on his face.

That sneaky devil. By giving me a beat to go along with, I could come up with two lines! This guy is a freaking genius!

I laughed and nodded thanks to the inspirational player next to me. How in the world did he know that would work?

And, why is he still playing?

Nick changed the rhythm and made the playing sound more powerful along with crashing the ride cymbal more. His head nodded back and forth and side to side. This guy is _rocking _the solo out. I can't tell whether he's still trying to motivate me or if he's just playing for the sheer joy of it. I'm going to take a wild guess and say it's both.

The banging of the symbols then gave me another idea. The sound that came from the drums now gave me sense of desperation.

Desperation…because the girl is admitting long-term feelings, there would be desperation involved. I don't want to use such a long word though. What would the girl want to say to the guy with the same effect?

The music continued, but the volume sounded stronger this time around.

If Nick didn't watch out, he would have to replace that school-owned drum set. If he keeps on hitting the cymbals so hard, they will probably shatter.

Shatter…break…two words which flooded through my head along with the desperate feeling.

I imagined myself as the girl in love; the girl who would tell her crush how she felt.

_I must tell you how I feel_

_And break this shatterproof seal._

My heart pumped in excitement again. I just completed a new verse! I grabbed my notebook off of the stand and jotted everything down.

_I walked the streets,_

_Listening to everything,_

_Wondering if now's the time, _

_To show these feelings of mine._

_It's so easy, yet not;_

_The cliché romance plot._

_I must tell you how I feel_

_And break this shatterproof seal._

I smiled at the progress and closed my notebook. In addition to my action, Nick finally stopped playing. The echo of his last beat resounded throughout the music room, and for some reason the hairs on my arms raised from the silence. I don't think the temperature dropped; in fact, I find it rather warm in this room.

The musician to my right let out a breath and wiped his forehead which glistened a little from his powerful playing.

"Found what you're looking for?" he asked, breathing deeply. His fair skin even held a flushed color to it. It suited him, in my opinion.

"Yes!" I exclaimed and hopped up from the bench. "How did you know that would work?"

Nick gave a shrug, but a smug air seemed to float about him. "Just a feeling." He stood up from the drum set and walked over to stand by me. "Plus, I just really wanted to play."

I rolled my eyes and glanced at the clock above the door. Wow, twenty minutes already passed by. Students already passed by the door, books in hand.

I gave my attention back to the boy standing next to me; feeling a little disappointed that school started in ten minutes. I was having fun hanging out with Nick Lucas. Oh well, there's still French.

"How long have you played the drums?" I asked, gathering my backpack and purse.

Nick picked up his own bag and clutched on to his drumsticks. "Since I was six."

"Amazing," I said under my breath and vocalized my thanks when he opened the door for me. "Did you have a mini-drum set?" I got a mental image of a tiny Nick Lucas playing a huge drum set. Quite humorous since imaginary Nick could only reach the bass drum.

He scratched the back of his ear sheepishly and nodded. "Yeah. A mini-drum set for a mini-me."

I laughed as Nick tried to hide his embarrassment. "Well, isn't that adorable." I mock-sighed, earning a grin from the boy walking with me. I turned the corner, and raised my eyebrows when I saw Allison and Adam standing together by my locker.

Allison suddenly burst into laughter while Adam smiled brightly.

Weren't they supposed to be fighting?

Dang it, I can't hear what they're saying.

I turned to Nick apologetically. "Hey, I'll see you later, Nick. I just remembered I have to talk to my friends about something."

"Sure," he nodded, looking around my shoulder inquisitively towards Adam and Allison. "But, you will let me read what you've added to your song during seventh period, right?"

I really do want him to read it. "You helped me, so I suppose you deserve first dibs." I waved with a smile and left feeling very excited over seeing the youngest Lucas again. I hope he likes my new verse.

Gosh, why do I care so much?

Nick and I parted ways, and I sneakily made my way over to where Adam and Allison were having an upbeat conversation.

Somebody had conveniently left their locker open close enough where I could hide behind it and hear what my friends were talking about. I ignored the stares from the owner of the locker. He probably just thought there was some crazy girl hiding behind his locker.

Unfortunately, his thoughts ran on the borderline of reality.

Back to spying.

"You are so stupid," Allison chuckled. Well, no weirdness there. She always calls Adam stupid. Come to think of it, she calls me stupid, too. Maybe it's a sign of affection….Hopefully.

I couldn't exactly see what was going on since an open locker door stood in my view. I peeked through the crack in between the hinges. There we go; I can see both of them.

You know, even though those two are polar opposites personality-wise…they actually do look cute together. I wonder why I never noticed before. Oh well, it's not like I noticed a lot of things lately, anyway.

Adam took no offense to her comment as usual, and continued laughing about something that was apparently funny.

"But that's why you love me," he chirped.

Wait, wait, wait…is Allison blushing?

Oh my gosh, she is.

Does this mean she could possibly, probably, maybe return Adam's feelings? If so, I could end my internal conflict over this whole situation with my two friends and Nick Lucas!

Though…Nick and I have become friends because of the situation…so I guess I shouldn't really complain. Thanks to him I have written more of my song.

Allison seemed to have lost herself in her own world for a split second (which she tended to do when flustered), and I hoped (so my confusion over this ridiculous love triangle would end) she would say something like "I love you, Adam!" or "Let's run away together-"

"No, it's why I put up with you."

Ouch. Never mind.

Wait. Adam looks determined.

"Go Adam," I whispered ecstatically, pumping my fist slightly. The locker guy gave me another strange look. Why is he still there anyway? Pfft, what a freak.

Back to spying behind the locker door.

Allison had grabbed a few books out of her locker, ignorant of the determined expression Adam had.

"Is that the only reason?" he asked quietly.

My eyes totally bugged out. That was very brave and unexpected coming from Adam; especially since him and speaking does not mix.

Allison even showed her own version of surprise towards his forwardness.

"I-I was kidding…," she stuttered. "Oh look! That stain resembles like the Kool-aid guy!"

Allison…you suck at trying to change the subject.

Adam sighed, "Allison, you suck at trying to change the subject."

"Do not! I-I mean…I'm not trying to change the subject." It's kind of funny how Allison sounds like she sucked in some helium before saying that statement.

My fun with spying suddenly ended when her head quickly turned away from the boy next to her and searched frantically around her.

Crap, she's looking for me.

I struggled with staying hidden and giving Adam his moment…but another part of me wanted to help Allison. She looked so uncomfortable. No friend leaves her best girl friend hanging even if she shouldn't have changed the subject.

"Excuse me," the locker guy interrupted my internal conflict. "Are you lost? You're kind of freaking me out."

I put a finger to my lips and furiously shushed him.

The stranger seemed to not appreciate this. He rolled his eyes and slammed the locker shut, leaving me out in the open.

"So rude," I huffed. Can't anyone hide behind someone else's locker anymore?

"Jane!" I heard Allison shout. My eyes met a very relieved girl and a very flustered boy.

I quickly smiled and acted aloof. "Hey guys! What's going on?" No, I didn't just stand behind a locker for five minutes spying on you.

"_Nothing_!" Both shouted at the same time, their volume throwing me off for a second.

"Okay, first of all..._ow_," I scowled; messing around with my left ear, making sure it still worked. "Second of all…why so tense guys?" The latter part of that statement I made complete with an evil smirk. Allison and Adam glanced at each other for a split second, and then just as quickly, looked away, mumbling a few denying statements.

Ah…uncomfortable moments between friends.

5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5

Woot! Fifth chapter done and I am satisfied as to how it turned out. I hope everyone enjoyed the Nick/Jane moments in the beginning. I watched this video on YouTube of Nick playing the drums, and I was like "Wow." That video inspired this chapter.

I'm going to try and get the next chapter out as soon as possible, but in the mean time, please review and tell me what all of you think.


	6. The End of the Week Craziness

Okay, who is excited about this week's JONAS episode?! I am! When I saw the preview I screamed and jumped around the room yelling "YES!"

Sorry about the wait, but I think the school system is trying to kill me. Being a substitute teacher is no fun, especially when it's flu season. If they have to get flu shots, then why do all of the teachers keep getting the flu?!

Okay, enough ranting. Have fun reading, because I had fun writing!

Oh, and please review. Thanks to all who have reviewed! Thanks for all of the encouragement!

Disclaimer: I own nothing, except for the OCs.

6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6

There's nothing like perusing the halls before lunch.

Note the sarcasm, by the way.

The hallways before lunch are almost as bad as the stampede of girls who knocked me down earlier this week. I had to dodge, duck, and almost dive to survive the walk back to my locker…like everyone else.

Gosh, I think twenty people just packed themselves into the elevator. Is that even possible? Or legal?

…and some poor soul is hidden by a mountain of outrageous fabric. Not exactly a good idea to walk around with your arms full during this time of day.

"Oh no! Watch out!"

I winced as the person bumped into one of the students, making all of the fabric tumble down in a big, colorful rush. And, of course, no one else noticed except for me and the unfortunate individual.

My Good Samaritan side is kicking in…

I weaved throughout the busy hallway traffic, and stopped before the fallen person.

It turns out the stranger is no stranger at all. It's Stella, and I think she might have had a bad morning. Either that or she always looked ready to kill someone. That observation caused me to stall a bit.

Let's give her a second or two to cool off that murderous rage.

I cautiously edged closer to the peeved blonde, and picked up a roll of purple fabric.

Oh! It's so soft! If she's planning on making an outfit for the Lucas brothers out of this, maybe she will have some left over, and I could ask…

Okay, way off subject.

"Hey Stella," I smiled awkwardly as I extended my hand to help the girl up.

"Meatloaf girl," Stella greeted as she graciously took my hand.

Seriously, is the meatloaf thing never going to wear off?

"Fabric girl," I muttered in retaliation. "Anyways, you should know better than to walk around the halls at this time of day with your hands full."

Stella nodded and gathered the rest fallen fabric with my help. "I know, but this is an emergency. I _just _found out from Kevin, Nick, and Joe that they are planning on having a live web chat on Facebook this Saturday. So, I have to work my _butt _off to come up with three amazing outfits in _two _days! Designing them will be no trouble, of course, but actually making them is a workout! Some forewarning would have been nice!" She said it all in breath, and I just stared at her after she finished. Stella actually appeared to want me to say something on the subject.

What in the world do I _know _about style and live web chats? Rhetorical question, by the way.

But I have to say something.

"Uh…well, why don't they just wear something they already have?" I asked. "Are the fans really going to notice a new shirt or pair of jeans?"

I apparently said something wrong because she just gave me the most skeptical look ever. As I said, I don't know anything about style! My mom actually buys all of my clothes. I know, pathetic, but it's either that or I wear plaid with stripes…which I have done before, unfortunately.

"The fans always notice. Trust me," the stylist sighed and looked mournfully at the fabric. "Especially Nick's shirts or Joe's hats…and sometimes their socks…"

I nodded slowly, unsure of what to say to that. The fans care that much over socks? If that's the case then JONAS is a very lucky band to have such a hard-working stylist. I took another gander at the purple cloth in my hands.

"Purple's my favorite color," I mused offhand.

If anyone looked in my closet they would freak over the violet theme. Ever since my mom bought me a purple hat in the ninth grade, I always found myself asking for a purple shirt or violet pants. It kind of broke my heart when I found out Horace Mantis Academy's colors consisted of red and blue. I like those colors, too, but I would give anything to walk around the school in my favorite shade. I glanced at the soft fabric in my hand, "And, I must say, this fabric is _awesome_. If I ever become famous, I would so ask you to make me a dress out of this."

My comment seemed to put Stella in higher spirits because her stressed appearance quickly changed into flattery.

"Really?" she beamed, and I nodded enthusiastically. Seriously, the fabric is softer than my bunny slippers…which are also purple. "Aw, thank you! I was thinking about pure silk, but then I was like, 'No, too fancy for a web chat.' That's cotton and silk blended together. Durable and smooth. You know, I might have some left over afterwards. Maybe you could make yourself a purple scarf to go with that purple nose."

I laughed and nodded. "That would be awesome! Though, I wish I didn't have a purple nose to go with anything. I thought about putting makeup on it, but the bandage sort of defeats the purpose…"

Stella and I ended up chatting for a few more minutes as the hallways started to clear up. It turns out she's pretty down to earth and knows how to make intelligent conversation. We talked about clothes…or Stella told me about them. We also talked about the different classes we are taking. We both took the chance of enrolling in all advanced placement courses.

I consider myself pretty lucky meeting all of these new people this week. Sure, I wish the meetings would have occurred over a happier situation, but at least I met Stella, Macy, Kevin, Joe, and Nick.

Especially Nick, I kept thinking.

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After helping Stella shove all of the fabric into _both _of her lockers (Seriously, does the school just _give _them away?) and talking the entire way to the lunch room, we parted ways as she went over to sit with the Lucas's and Macy while I went to sit with Adam.

"Hello," I greeted in a sing-song voice as I took a seat beside my best male friend. Aw, he got me a snickerdoodle! I love him! Which is what I immediately told him when he offered me the delicious treat.

"You're in a good mood," Adam grinned. "Please tell me the cookie's not the only reason…"

I rolled my eyes, but my attitude remained in a positive hype. "No, but it helped. Stella Malone and I had an awesome conversation, and she told me she's going to make me a purple scarf!" After I told her my lack of knowledge over style, the blond gasped. She then felt determined to open my eyes to wondrous world of fashion (she even used those exact words)…and this involved making me an awesome purple scarf.

This week sure is turning around.

"Awesome," Adam agreed and took a bite of his homemade sandwich. I snacked on my cookie while the two of us ate in a comfortable silence. That's what I love about Adam them most. During lunch, we're just comfortable sitting together and eating.

I almost finished the deluxe cookie in complete silence until Adam broke it.

"So…I heard Nick Lucas sat by you in French," he started, clearing his throat awkwardly. "I didn't know you guys were friends."

Good thing I finished my food, because the uncomfortable air of the impending conversation made me lose my appetite.

"Well, not until yesterday," I mumbled, looking around the cafeteria. Anywhere but at the puppy dog eyes Adam was giving me. "He's actually a pretty awesome guy, Adam." No use lying to him about it.

"Th-that's good," my friend got out, but it sounded strangled to me. Crap, maybe I should have said something else. "Allison already told me _all _about him this morning…and how you're trying to set them up…"

I turned back to face him, expecting an outraged appearance on Adam. He's not that type of person, though. In fact, he struggled to keep a ghost of a smile on his face.

Doesn't matter. I still feel like a traitor.

I sighed and fiddled around with the cookie wrapper, "I have tried setting her up with Nick, but to be honest…I don't know if he's right for her."

It's true. I'll admit it. Allison is awesome and Nick is awesome, but really the two things thing they have in common is that I think highly of both of them, and they both can be pretty reserved. Moreover, after I witnessed the conversation between Adam and her this morning, I couldn't deny that both of my friends would go great together.

Adam straightened up to my confession. "You don't?"

I shook my head, "No, but don't start cheering yet. Allison still likes Nick and I am going to support her in any way that I can. Plus, she needs to broaden her social circle a little. This will be good for her."

Adam nodded albeit reluctantly. "You're right. I need to be a good friend and encourage her with this."

What? I didn't say anything about him doing that.

Does no one _ever_ understand what I say?!

I couldn't help it anymore. I raised my right hand and smacked Adam upside the head.

How stupid can a guy get?

"Jane?! What the heck?!" Adam exclaimed, rubbing where I had hit him.

"You doofus!" I stated in disbelief. "I said _I'm _going to encourage her. _You _need to win over the girl of your dreams!" That's right. I'm done with deciding which side to take. I can support Allison, but that does not mean I can't support Adam either. It seemed like the right thing to do as a friend.

Ah, and I loved the priceless look on Adam's face. Complete with blank eyes and a slack jaw. Oh yeah, and he was speechless. So I continued with my inspirational soapbox.

"I heard the conversation between you two this morning. Ugh, the owner of the locker I hid behind was so rude-"

"You _spied_ on us-?" he interrupted, gaining his voice back quickly.

I waved his question off, "That's not the point. The point is how I saw the chemistry. Believe me, Adam, Allison _blushed_," I admitted with a sly grin. Allison doesn't just blush for anybody.

Now it was Adam's turn to blush. "Really?"

I nodded quickly, "Yes! So, you need to stop sulking in a corner and take action like you did this morning."

"I-I took action?" Adam asked in a daze.

"Like the suave machine you are," I told him, patting my friend on the back encouragingly.

And finally, _finally_, my mind felt at peace.

For now.

6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6

Seventh period, seventh period, seventh period. I said the words over and over again in my head as I practically skipped to my last class of the day. I actually entered the classroom with a smile on my face.

"_Bonjour _Madame Love," I saluted my French instructor, and I swear the woman almost spit her coffee out. She appeared shocked over my knowledge of the foreign greeting.

"_B-Bonjour _Ms. Abbot," she responded and subtly pinched herself to see if she had just dreamed the small exchange.

I immediately spotted Nick. He chose the same seat from yesterday. Luckily there was an open seat to my left, so Adam could still sit next to me.

I plopped down in my seat with a wide smile, and noticed the youngest Lucas writing something, occasionally glancing at his French book.

My eyes wandered to his paper and saw the lines were written in a prose form.

"Are you working on your poem?" I asked, waving to Adam as he walked in. Even he looked brighter than usual today.

Nick nodded, and wrote one more word before turning his attention to me. "Just trying to get a head start since the band has a concert on Halloween."

I glanced at his paper once more and almost dropped my jaw. He already had one verse of the assigned, four-verse poem written.

"Okay, if you keep making me jealous of your French skills, you can't sit by me anymore," I stated grumpily. Nick shrugged innocently and put the paper away.

"I'll never work ahead again," he mumbled sarcastically. "Haven't you started yet?"

Well… there went my positive attitude…

"I've decided on the subject," I provided, sounding hopeful.

Okay, so I've spent more time on my song and helping my friends than focusing on my school work.

Crap…

Nick, bless his soul, said nothing and changed the subject.

"Anyways, I believe you promised me a look at your new verse which my awesome drum-playing inspired."

I rolled my eyes as I retrieved my notebook from my bag. "Arrogant much?" I was just teasing him because a part of me is happy Nick feels comfortable enough to show his true personality around me…which isn't that different from when I first met him.

Still intense, still quiet, but a tad more humorous. Like a little whipped cream added to an already tasty hot chocolate…

What a terrible sounding analogy. Oh well, it made me laugh a little on the inside.

"I can be, but luckily Joe is known as the arrogant one, so I get off scot-free."

"Smart-aleck," I said teasingly under my breath and handed him my tattered, lyric notebook. I took a glance over towards Adam to see what he preoccupied himself with. Oh, he's working on his poem, too…

"What's your poem about?" I asked him, leaning towards his desk. I shot my eyebrows up in surprise when Adam quickly covered his paper.

"What? No one- I mean nothing!" He frowned at his lame cover up and I smiled at the entertainment he just provided.

"Let me guess," I said, tapping my index finger against my chin. "Could it be that you're writing your assigned poem about a certain girl in _ze language of_ _love_?"

Adam turned red and nodded in embarrassment.

I laughed and patted him on the shoulder, "How sweet! Don't worry, I won't tell her." Dude, he's writing a love poem for Allison in French? Talk about romantic! I am so glad he took my lunch speech to heart.

"Thanks," Adam grinned.

I was about to continue our small conversation, but something brought my gaze back to Nick.

His calloused fingers grazing against my forearm to be exact.

The sudden, unexpected feeling made me light-headed, and the sense of touch made every hair on my arms stand on end. But, just as quick as the sensation appeared, it disappeared.

Apparently, he just wanted to get my attention.

It worked very well.

"I just finished, and…are you okay?" Nick asked, his positive attitude changing to one of concern.

My brain tried to correct my numb exterior filled with an electric interior, but it took a second. I blinked once, twice, and then realized Nick had asked something and now held an expression of worry.

"What?" I asked, swallowing the huge lump that had formed in my throat.

Am I suffering from some unknown disease? Some type of infliction which always involves Nick Lucas? He grins at me, I become flustered. He smiles at me, I can't breathe. He touches me and I just go insane.

Something is definitely wrong with me.

"He asked if you were okay, Jane," Adam said, his voice also filled with concern. "Are you?"

"Wha- oh! Yeah! Yeah! Totally fine," I turned from Adam to Nick nodding my head in reassurance…mostly for myself. "I was just thinking about my poem." Such a lie, Jane. Such a lie…but even I don't know what is wrong with me.

And it was such a promising day.

Not to mention, I definitely do not like how Nick appeared not to believe my excuse. Even Adam looked skeptical. Do you know what it feels like to have two guys give you intense stares? Especially when one of them is an expert at it?

It's not comfortable.

Time to change the subject. Fast. "You just finished reading my new verse? What did you think?"

Nick held an expression of doubt at my quick change of pace. Well, it's not really in my personality to change the subject; that trait belongs to Allison and sometimes Adam. It confused me, too.

Thankfully Nick went along with the change and glanced back at my notebook.

"I like it," he said, completely honest.

"Really?" I asked wide-eyed, forgetting my previous dilemma. Nick Lucas just said he liked something that came from my eccentric brain. This is a welcomed distraction.

Before I could accept the three-worded praise, however, I had to make sure he was serious.

"It's not too simple?" I asked slowly.

"Sometimes simple is the best way to go," Nick stated quietly. "Emotions definitely can be complicated, but they can also be straightforward. Don't beat around the bush with this song; just tell it like it is."

By the time I wanted to voice my thanks, Madame Love chose that moment to start class.

6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6

"Both of you are nerds," Allison muttered to Adam and I as the three of us sat around in Adam's bedroom.

"No, we're good students," I pointed out.

After school had ended, we met up and decided to have a little study party. After all, we have gotten way behind in our studies with all the drama that has happened. I sat in my usual position; lying on the floor with both of my feet resting up on the bed. I had my French book propped up on my stomach with a piece of paper on top of the pages, and a pencil tucked behind my ear.

Adam, who had already gotten a head start on his poem, enthusiastically helped Allison with her Geometry homework. Ever since I've known Adam, he has always had a better way with numbers than words. He sat at his desk chair facing the petite blond while she lay across on his bed with her text book open. Her brow furrowed in confusion as Adam tried to explain how to find the area of a rhombus.

"Just treat it like another square," he put two of his fingers over the slanted sides of the shapes, making the rhombus into a square. "Now the length is four while the width is also four."

An expression that basically said "Eureka!" appeared on Allison's features. "Oh! Area is length time's width, so the area of the rhombus is sixteen!"

Adam nodded with the mooniest smile I have ever seen which caused me to grin at the two. Freaking adorable. They did work well together. Allison just needed to lighten up a bit instead of weighing herself down with a guarded personality.

"What's so funny?" Allison asked me with a cocked brow.

I tried in vain to cover my amusement. "Nothing…I'm just so proud of you, Allison! You learned the area of the rhombus!" The sarcastic, yet friendly, comment received a pillow to the face.

"Hey, no using my pillows as weapons," Adam playfully warned as I prepared to throw the soft object back. That guy has fluffier pillows than even me…and I love fluffy pillows.

"No fun," Allison muttered, but a tiny smile played on the corners of her lips. Hmm, was that expression for both of us, or one person in particular?

Seeing as she noticed my observing stare and quickly dropped the smile, I'm going to go with the latter.

"Jane, shouldn't you be working on your poem?" Allison said with a pointed look.

I frowned and with a "hmph," I turned my attention back to my book. Let's see, how much have I written so far?

Okay…just the title…not good.

_Mes Amies _(My Friends)

My poem is going to discuss friendship, so I had turned to the text book page where the definitions of some personal verbs, nouns, and adjectives were listed. I have my resources, but nothing wants to come out of my brain and onto paper.

"Oh, I almost forgot! Jane what are you doing Saturday?" Allison interrupted my failure in contemplation.

I shrugged. "Nothing, why?"

"At 8 PM, JONAS is doing a live web chat on Facebook! You want to join me?" Allison tried to hide her excitement, but in the company of her two best friends, she couldn't fool anyone.

I remembered the conversation I had with Stella today, and wondered how big of a deal JONAS's live chats are. Probably a very big deal.

Well, it could be fun. Plus, I wonder what Nick Lucas acts like around fans.

6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6

Saturday came in a flash. School work unloaded on everyone who attended Horace Mantis Academy. The teachers claimed they assigned everything to get us ready for the upcoming midterms…we, the students, thought the teachers just wanted to see everyone die a slow and painful death.

I had hoped to see Nick and ask him more questions concerning my new song…but he was actually absent on Friday. I saw Joe and Kevin, and they told me he felt a little under the weather that morning.

I'm not going to lie. I was disappointed. But please tell me who wouldn't find themselves disappointed if one of their friends was sick?

Anyways, I just pulled into Allison's driveway. Tonight was going to another one of our many girls' nights which always included: sleepwear, pizza, highly caffeinated beverages, a phone book for awesome prank calls, a flat iron for my friend's strange obsession with straightening my curly hair (I only let her do it like once every few months), and some Blue Bell pints. Chocolate chip mint for me and cookie dough for Allison.

We usually watch scary movies, but since the live chat brought the reason for the girls' night, no movies will be involved this evening.

"Hello, Jane," Mrs. Harris greeted me with a tired smile.

"Hey Mrs. Harris…rough week?" I asked sympathetically. I really have to commend this woman for working as a lawyer and raising a kid at the same time.

"You have no idea," she muttered, running a hand through her graying, blond hair. "Anyways, enough about that, Allie's upstairs hooking her laptop to the television." Allison's mother remains the only person to this day to ever call her Allie and live afterwards. That's how close they are.

I thanked Mrs. Harris for letting me stay over and skipped up the stairs to find Allison just finish plugging in the necessary cords to the back of her flat screen. Even though my friend doesn't have the book smarts, she sure knows to handle electronics. Better than anyone I've ever met, that is. On countless occasions she has helped me with computer problems.

The petite girl brought her head from behind the television, and grinned when she saw me walking into the room. "Hey! Are you ready for the Abbot and Harris Night, part Sixteen?"

I held up a cooler that I had carried in with me and nodded excitedly. I love these nights! "Heck yes! Don't you see me carrying the Cooler of the Abbot and Harris Night?"

If you can't tell, I came up with all of the lame titles.

Within the next five minutes, Allison and I had changed into our sleepwear, drank some Mountain Dew, and lay back on our over-sized pillows in front of the tv. Ten minutes remained before the live chat began so Allison commenced on the long process of straightening my hair.

"Why don't you straighten your own hair?" I asked while passing a hair clip to my friend. The steam from the flat iron already fogged up my glasses.

Allison scoffed, "Because mine isn't long and thick like yours. I feel much more accomplished when I do your hair."

"You're weird," I muttered, amused. "I'd kill for platinum hair with a gentle curl." I said the last part wistfully.

My friend snapped the iron at me, teasingly. Once, however, she did accidentally burn my ear doing that…

"Shut up, Jane. This isn't _Wicked_, you aren't Elphaba…and I am most definitely not Glinda!"

"True that," I giggled. My eyes looked back at the television screen, and noticed the feed had started. No JONAS, however, just some cardboard saying "5 Minutes!"

"So, what are these live chats like?" I asked. "Do we just watch them on a webcam?"

"No, it's like a chat room so we can type in anything we want to ask them or tell them," Allison explained. "This is a first for me. I don't even know which question to ask Nick." She actually sounded like she was about to go on a date with the guy. Allison put down the flat iron and messed with her own hair for a second.

This action cracked me up to no end.

Thus, resulting in Allison yelling at me to "Stop laughing!" for the rest of the five minutes.

"Hey guys!" a familiar voice greeted from the television. Two other voices joined in, and the cardboard disappeared from the screen, revealing the Lucas brothers waving and smiling to their adoring fans. Joe sat in the middle while Nick sat on his left with Kevin on the right.

I also took the time to appreciate the wardrobe Stella had put together. Nick wore a white long-sleeved t-shirt with the sleeves pushed up, and a black scarf hanging loose around his neck. Joe wore a black, button-up shirt and a matching hat. Finally, Kevin wore a long-sleeved purple shirt with a crème-colored vest. I assumed that they wore pants, too (hopefully), but the camera was at an angle, so I couldn't see.

Nice work, Stella, I thought with a grin. The boys look great. Plus, this was a first for me, seeing what Nick wore besides the school uniform.

I like how he kept it simple.

My eyes glanced at the chat window to the side, and gaped at many responses scrolling down the page. Holy crap. How can the guys even read this? The page scrolled at the speed of light. I did catch a few of the responses, though.

**BonusJONAS92: **Say 'hi' to Charlotte from AZ!

**BurninUP4JONAS: **OMJ, you guys r so hawt!

**xXxKNJxXx: **Come back to the Dominican Republic!

**Future_Wife_of_JOE: **Joe, what color r ur sockz?!

**JONAS_is_PeRfEcTiOn: **Marry me! All 3 of u!

**NickLismine1996: **I heart Nick's shirt!

**Soapluvr_xoxo: **Do u guys play with soap?

I stopped reading all of the comments after I read that one. Do they play with soap? Did that person seriously just ask that question?

Joe apparently thought the question was hilarious, and Kevin laughed loudly while Nick just furrowed his brow in confusion.

"Anyways," Kevin piped up, still very amused by the random question. "Welcome to the JONAS live chat, everybody! I'm Kevin, if you didn't know that already."

"I didn't," Joe said with widened eyes. "I thought you were some random guy that always followed us around."

"Thanks bro…"

"We're in New Jersey right now," Nick went on, ignoring his older brothers' sarcasm.

Man, he does not look like he feels well. Nick always had a pale complexion, but right now he almost looked transparent. I noticed the dark rings under his brown eyes, and how he appeared in want of a long sleep. "Had a busy week at school, but it was worth it since we get to talk to all of you amazing people."

"He's so dedicated to his fans," Allison sighed.

I nodded seriously, letting Allison's ridiculous, dreamy tone slide. "Yeah, he is." Nick Lucas probably has the flu, but he still got up to do a live chat. If that isn't dedication, then something's wrong with the world.

The first part of the live chat consisted of the Lucas brothers talking about the Halloween concert coming up in three weeks, and their third album that came out during the summer. All the while answering a few random questions, and shouting out some names.

"Kevin, will you move to Iceland and live with my family?" Nick asked his oldest brother, reading the screen in front of him. I almost choked on my drink after seeing their priceless faces. Nick pulled his scarf up to cover up his face, but from the quivering of his shoulders…I'm guessing he's laughing…which made me laugh. Kevin's eyes had widened, and his mouth opened and closed. He had no idea what to say.

Joe decided to answer the fan's question since both of his brothers seemed incapacitated.

"Yes, Kevin would love to move to Iceland and live with your family."

Needless to say, that whole ordeal kept me laughing for the next five minutes. Even Allison had buried her face in a pillow to hide her amusement.

"Moving on," Nick pulled his scarf down, gaining his composure back. "Kevin, Joe, and I decided to add a new feature to this chat."

"Whatever do you mean, Nick?" Kevin asked, all too innocently.

"Yes Nick," Joe added similarly, "What is this dazzling feature you speak of?"

The youngest Lucas rolled his eyes at his brothers' antics, but even he had a hint of excitement behind his cool façade.

"Last May we tried out this fan call system, where we could actually talk to some of you over the phone-"

Allison immediately sat up straight with her eyes wide. "Oh my gosh! I saw that chat. They're bringing it back?" She turned towards me and grabbed my arms roughly and shook me ecstatically.

"Gah!" I screeched as I felt my head was about to fall off. "Stop it!"

She did eventually stop…but it was only to hear what Nick had continued to say.

I feel so used.

I shook my head to rid myself of the spots which proceeded to dance in front of my eyes.

"This time, however," Nick continued with a small grin. "JONAS is going to call _you_."

"What?" I asked in confusion. I turned to Allison who had gotten a death-grip on her pillow. "How can he get the numbers?"

"I know some of you are thinking 'How can we get your numbers?'," Nick continued. "Well, if you're part of Macy Misa's website and have listed your number in your profile, then that's how we got it."

Well…that answered my question.

Now, to get Allison to let go of her pillow before her hands are permanently attached to it. I'm guessing that my friend does have a profile on Misa's website.

Okay, since when did Allison become such a JONAS fan? Is it all because of Nick?

Why does this disturb me?

"It's no big deal," I tried to tell her, pushing those thoughts out of my head. "There are like a million people on this chat. It doesn't mean that they're going to call you."

Allison finally let go of the unfortunate pillow (which almost ripped from her grasp, by the way). "You're right," she chuckled, nervously. "What was I thinking? There's like one in a million chance of JONAS actually calling _me_-"

My friend stopped talking when the familiar tone of her cell phone resounded throughout the room.

…

Okay, now that's just weird.

6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6

OH! CLIFFHANGER! Haha, I am evil. Well, sorry I kept you all waiting on this chapter, but I was trying to decide whether to continue making it longer or just to give it to you guys and make the ending a cliffhanger.

Anyways, love you all. Please review!

Note: I did steal the soap question from an actual live-chat. I just thought it was too hilarious not to put in this chapter.


	7. Coincidence Repetition

Second season of JONAS! AHH!! Who else screamed when they found out this wonderful news?

I sure did.

Anyways, thanks for the positive reviews people! I really appreciate them, and hope this chapter doesn't disappoint.

As always, please review so I can know how I'm doing with the story.

Disclaimer: Besides the OCs and my computer…I own nothing.

By the way, thanks to the Glee soundtrack, I was able to get more inspiration than usual while writing this.

* * *

"Allison?" I asked my frozen friend. She seriously looked like a deer caught in the headlights with her eyes as wide as saucers and her limbs all tensed up.

Either way, the phone continued to ring.

"Allison? This is your best friend, Jane, speaking. _Snap out of it_," I snapped my fingers in front of her eyes, and the girl finally came back to reality. She squeaked and lunged for the phone. Her fingers fumbled around on the dial pad, and successfully hit the 'answer' button.

Just in time. I sighed in relief and faced my friend in excitement.

"Go Allison!" I whispered, rooting her on with my fists raised in the air.

I know, we see the Lucas brothers at school every day, but this phone conversation would be heard by many, _many _people. Plus, Allison actually picked up the phone, so this is a major step in breaking the girl out of her shell.

Allison took a deep, shaky breath. "H-Hello?"

"Hey, is this Allison Harris?" I heard Joe ask from the screen. My eyes, however, remained on Allison.

She looks like she's about to puke.

Maybe I should get a bucket.

"Y-yeah," the sheet-white female breathed out into the receiver.

"_Hello_!" three male voices boomed out. "We're the Lucas brothers from JONAS!"

Aw, they sound so enthusiastic! It was hard for me to not look at the screen and see the enthusiasm for myself, but someone had to keep an eye on Allison.

Is she even breathing?

Why hasn't she answered them?

My friend simply held the phone to her ear, and dared not to move a muscle….except to tighten her hold on the cell phone. Great, now we're back to the deer caught in headlights phase.

"Um…hello?" I heard Kevin ask.

"Did we lose her?" Nick whispered, looking uncomfortable with the silence.

"_Allison_," I frantically whispered, not wanting the boys on the other line to hear me. No need for a million people hearing my efforts to get Allison back to Earth.

Not that it matters anyway, because the blond did _not _hear me.

"I guess the connection's bad," Joe said, sounding a little low.

I scrambled towards Allison fervently. This is the chance in a lifetime for her! I have to do something.

"_Say something!"_ I whispered with clenched teeth, putting both hands on top her shoulders. I shook the girl a little. Okay, not a little…but enough to where a reaction should follow.

Well…I did get a reaction from Allison…

Right after my hands left her shoulders, her body fell limp and landed with a 'thump' on the floor.

Allison fainted.

She actually fainted…

What. The. Heck?!

I so want to her to wake up so I can knock her out again. She lost her chance to speak to Nick!

"I think we should just hang up," I caught Nick mumbling to his brothers who nodded in agreement.

I have no idea what compelled me to do it. Maybe I had too much caffeine running through my system, or maybe I just hate unanswered phone calls. But, the moment I heard Nick say he was going to end the phone call; I ripped the phone from Allison's lifeless hand, and put the phone next to my ear.

"Sorry about that," I said quickly into the speaker, turning my gaze towards the screen. "Allison can't come to the phone right now."

Never mind, I regret answering the phone. Once I heard my own voice echo from the television, I felt a bit queasy. Now I know why Allison felt the way she did. It is _nerve-wracking_.

The brothers looked confused by this unexpected turn of events. I bit my lip, trying to keep myself together. Keep it together, Jane…there's only about a million people hearing this conversation.

"Who's this?" Joe asked, very confused.

"Her friend, Jane," I said, breathless.

"Jane?" Kevin said, perking up at the name. "You know, we go to a school with a girl named Jane."

I laughed nervously, "Oh really? What a coincidence!"

Did Nick just do a double take at the phone? Does he recognize my voice? No, no, no! That would be totally awkward. I mean, more awkward than it already is…you know, with Allison lying unconscious beside me.

"What happened to Allison?" Nick asked, giving the phone a curious gaze.

I probably shouldn't tell them that she fainted. "She…she had an emergency."

"What emergency?" Does he always have to ask so many questions?!

Okay, Jane. You can do this. Make something up on the spot. "Oh, you know…her cat. Yeah! Her cat passed out so she had to take it to the vet." I winced once the words left my mouth, and once I saw the expression of disbelief on Nick's face. Kevin and Joe appeared horrified at the thought of an innocent animal suffering.

Allison hates cats…but JONAS doesn't have to know that.

"Oh no!" Kevin cried out. "Is the cat okay?!"

"Did she save it in time?!" Joe followed up. Both were on the edge of their seats while Nick had narrowed his eyes, trying to figure something out. I hope that something had nothing to do with me.

"I don't know…" I said slowly, unsure of what to say. Everything I've said so far has caused nothing but trouble.

Nick cleared his throat. "Seeing as Allison couldn't talk to us, do you have anything you would like to ask?"

Considering I'm not a super fan of JONAS or anything like that, the youngest Lucas' question threw me off for a split second. I don't really have anything to ask…but if I don't then I'll feel bad about wasting their time.

"Okay," I said thoughtfully, as I put together a question. What's their favorite movie? No, probably asked too often. Do you guys like going to a normal high school? No, too normal. Boxers or briefs? No, too creepy.

I should ask them something to do with their music. After all, they are musicians. My brain worked hard to formulate something good to ask.

What's your favorite song to play? No. Who's your favorite artist? No. Okay, let's re-think this.

Maybe something more complex…

I smiled when the right question struck me. There we go.

"Okay," I started, more confident than the last time I spoke. "When all you are playing one of your songs, how do you feel when you hit that perfect note whether it is instrumental or vocal?"

Not bad if I do say so myself.

"Good question," Nick asked, looking fairly impressed. There's a new expression I've never seen before. He's grinning (which I have seen before), but his head tilted to the side in a certain way, creating an air of appreciation. An offhand thought, I know…but…since it caused something to flutter around in my chest, I thought I should mention it.

"Unfortunately, there are no words to describe the feeling."

My smile immediately disappeared.

"What?" I blurted out in disappointment. "Why not-"

"Well, it was great talking to you, Jane," Joe quickly followed up, waving goodbye at the screen. "Tell Allison we're sorry we couldn't talk to her."

"But-" I tried to ask again. What's with the sudden farewell?!

"We hope she saved the cat," Kevin added in seriously, cutting me off.

"Wait-" I said in irritation.

"Thanks for the question, and we appreciate you being a fan of JONAS," Nick interrupted, clapping his hands together and nodding at the screen.

"But, I'm not-"

"Bye!" The Lucas brothers said together.

Then there went the dial tone.

I stared at the phone in disbelief, and then glanced back at the screen. The band members continued on chatting happily in ignorance of my confusion.

Why didn't they answer my question? Especially Nick, when I mainly wanted him to answer the question the most. What did he mean with "There are no words to describe the feeling"? He's a professional musician; he should know how to at least describe it in _words_.

* * *

I spent most of Sunday working on my poem for French. I made a small amount of progress. I wrote one verse. It's kind of sad how I spent seven hours coming up with four lines of French. That class might actually be the death of me.

Oh, you might be wondering what happened to Allison. Well, Allison eventually gained consciousness...right after the live chat ended. She then freaked out for another hour over fainting during a phone call, and then pummeled me with questions for one more hour when she heard I answered the phone for her.

Fun, fun, fun.

I sighed when I saw my digital clock read 7:05 P.M. My eyes then glanced back at my paper with the French verse written.

_Certaines personnes sont egoists,_

_Et certaines personnes sont tristes._

_Seulement mes amis sont l'exception_

_Dans ce monde cruel de fabrication._

(Some people are selfish and some people are sad. Only my friends are the exception in this cruel world of fabrication.)

It's a pretty good start, but is it fun to do? No. Nevertheless, the poem should bring a tear or two from Adam when he hears it. He gets pretty sentimental during friend moments. If you just pictured a grown man holding a tissue to a tear-stained face while blubbering something like, "That's so _special_!" then you got it spot on.

"Alrighty," I mumbled to myself, shutting my notebook and French dictionary. "Time for a well-deserved break…and food."

And, where does any girl with free time go to get food at 7:05 P.M. on a Sunday?

She goes to Sonic.

Actually, I don't know if that's true, but I always go there during that type of situation.

"Pick me up a chocolate shake while you're there, Jane," my dad called from the living room as I put on my coat and grabbed my keys.

"Oh yeah! Get me a chicken sandwich while you're there," my mom called from the same place. "Oh! And, second on the shake!"

I'm guessing all of you now know where I got my obsession with food from.

"Sure thing," I grinned as I left. The cold air of October in New Jersey immediately hit my face, and all thoughts of a terrible French assignment left my head as I enjoyed seeing my breath fog from my mouth.

Once I sat in my car and turned the engine on, I immediately searched for the perfect song to listen to for my one-minute drive to Sonic. Yes, I could walk if I wanted to, but I get a little paranoid walking by myself at night.

My hand turned the volume knob up, but instead of hearing the usual jams of my mixed CDs, the player read ERROR.

"No," I groaned and hit my head against the head rest. "Now I have to listen to the radio." Not that I have anything against the radio stations out there…it's just I have no control over the songs that play.

Well, I have to listen to something along the way. There's nothing worse than a silent drive.

I turned the radio on, and backed out of the driveway.

"Thanks for listening to RockNThousand Radio Station!" the announcement guy beamed from the radio. "Boy, have we got a treat for everyone tonight!"

"Yeah, yeah, just play the music already," I grumbled as I braked at a stop light.

"Tonight, we have the privilege of airing the new single from…you guessed it! JONAS!"

I couldn't help but laugh at the coincidence. It seems that those guys are everywhere. At school, on the internet, and now on the radio.

"Rock out to the new tune, "Fly with Me!"

Cool title…but can the actual song live up to the powerful title? I always ask myself that question when I see good titles like that.

I immediately got my answer when the piano and guitar opening blasted through the speakers…

…and then Nick's voice…

I know I've said it before, but I _will _say it again.

_**Wow.**_

_If it's you with me forever_

_If it's you and me right now_

_That'd be alright, that'd be alright_

_We're chasing stars to lose our shadow_

_Peter Pan and Wendy turned out fine,_

_So won't you fly with me?_

So yeah…by the time I got to Sonic I had another goofy smile on my face.

"Such a good song," I said dreamily. Good lyrics, good instrumental section, good singing, good everything. It was the type of song where I just knew that everything that came from Nick's voice came from his soul.

I parked my car by an intercom, and peered at the many delicious/fattening foods listed on the menu.

"Chicken salad? Pfft, no," I mused out loud to myself as I tried to decide what to get. I had more homework, and definitely needed some carbs. Plus, I hate salads. I eventually got so lost in looking at all of the pictures of the tasty food before my eyes that I didn't even notice a red Camaro pull up next to my car.

"Tater tots are a given," I continued, still oblivious to a certain curly-haired teenager in the car next to me. "Maybe a cheeseburger or a chicken sandwich…"

Decisions, decisions.

"Hi! Welcome to Sonic," the intercom next to me shouted. At first, I thought I pressed the ON button by accident, but then I realized it was the person next to me.

Huh, Nick has a red Camaro just like that one. What a coincidence. Those just keep happening this week.

"Hello," the unknown person said politely. "I'd like a Route 44 Diet Coke with a double cheeseburger." Ew, Diet Coke? Coke Zero beats it ten to one. Nice decision on the cheeseburger, though.

I have this weird obsession of listening to other people order at Sonic, and then giving the order a mental review.

Speaking of reviewing the previous order, that guy totally sounded like Nick. These coincidences just keep popping up, don't they? Now, back to gazing at the menu-

Wait a minute…

Expensive, red Camaro with the driver's voice sounding just like Nick's. Not to mention the waitresses kept giggling flirtatiously every time they passed the car.

Holy crap, that _is_ Nick in the car next to me. After that slow realization I immediately ducked low in my seat…

Yeah…my plan of going unnoticed didn't go very well considering my elbow hit the car horn.

"Gah!" I yelled and situated myself in an upright position again, hoping against all hope that Nick Lucas did not hear the obnoxiously loud car horn that would have woken my dead grandfather.

"Having trouble?" I heard a familiar voice ask.

Of course he would hear it.

"No…I'm just spastic," I said, trying to bring my voice in a lower tone to disguise my identity. I couldn't exactly see if he bought the terrible voice-acting (which made me sound like a pubescent boy) because a huge intercom stood in between our faces.

I know. Why should I try and hide from Nick Lucas? Well, ever since the phone call from yesterday, I've been kind of paranoid that he did recognize my voice. I don't want him to think that I'm just another fan. I really want to be his friend because of who he is, not because of what _band _he's known for. And, partaking of a live web chat doesn't help my argument.

"Ah," Nick simply uttered to my response, leaving an awkward silence hanging.

I sighed in relief when he made no effort to continue the conversation, and resumed gazing at the menu. After finally deciding on what to order, I pressed the red ORDER button.

I got the usual greeting from the Sonic worker, and I told the girl what I wanted.

"Hi, I'd like a double cheeseburger with a large order of tater tots, a Route 44 Coke Zero, two regular chocolate shakes, and a grilled chicken sandwich," I listed carelessly.

"…Would you like anything else with that…?" The guy probably thought I ordered everything for myself.

"Hmm…oh yeah! Lots of ketchup with that please," I said, bouncing a little in my seat. I'm a girl that loves her ketchup.

The worker told me my total, so I just leaned back in my seat, already prepared to have my food.

"Jane? Is that you?" The familiar voice interrupted my reverie.

Crap, I ordered in my normal voice. I winced and thought about just ignoring the question coming from the boy I couldn't speak to…but, I couldn't leave Nick hanging like that.

"Yeah," I sighed in defeat. "It's me."

"I didn't recognize you the first time. You sounded kind of like a guy."

"I had something in my throat."

"Ah," Nick used this simple utterance again with another silence following. After all, what can you say to someone whose face is blocked by an intercom?

Okay, I can deal with the silence…I guess. As long as nothing about the web chat comes up-

"This might sound strange," Nick interrupted my inner turmoil. "But, my brothers and I did this live web chat last night and we were doing fan phone calls. There was this one girl, and I _swear_ she sounded just like you."

Seriously? Is the whole world against me?

"Really?" I laughed nervously, but still glad Nick could not see my face. I had my eyes clenched shut and my lips set in a fine line to keep myself from screaming.

"Yeah," he continued. "She even said her name was Jane, and she had a friend named Allison…just like you."

Do I have a big mouth over the phone? Is there an automatic switch in my brain that makes me blurt every single thing about myself when I have a phone pressed to my ear?

If so, I really need to fix that.

"It's a small world," I quickly said. Never mind, coming to Sonic on a Sunday night was a terrible idea! I am never coming here again. I'll just start going to Wendy's or something.

"This girl asked an amazing question, though," Nick said.

My frantic thinking paused and I felt my entire face heat up from the compliment. "S-she did?"

"Definitely. She sounded very appreciative of my answer, too."

"What?" I asked in disbelief with my mouth dropped open. "You didn't answer my question at all!" I bit that out suddenly, and then slapped a hand over my mouth. You stupid girl! He tricked you!

Well played, Lucas.

"I knew it was you!" Nick said with a hint of triumph in his voice. I should have known he knew. That look he gave the phone last night should have given me a clear answer instead of a hunch. "Now, I have a question for you."

"Doesn't matter, you never answer mine anyway," I muttered grumpily.

"Not the point here," I heard the guy next to me disregard my statement. "My question is, what were _you_ doing on JONAS's live web chat?"

My heart dropped. My worst fears had come true. Nick believes I'm just another fan who wants to be friends with him because of his fame. I will _not _let him think that of me. No way in heck.

Is it strange how I value his friendship so much after I have only known him for a week?

"Not for the reason you're thinking of," I stated confidently. I got tired of the menu standing in my line of sight, and stepped out of my car. I walked around the intercom and stopped before the passenger door of the red Camaro. I bent down to face the driver.

"What are you-" Nick started, but with a warning look from me, he shut up.

"I'm only going to say this once," I said clearly, darting my eyes from his intense stare. I then realized I would not be able to get my point across without eye contact, so I forced my eyes to meet his.

Gosh, why do those dark brown orbs have to literally embody the saying, "eyes are the windows to the soul"?

After taking a gulp of air, I continued. "I know we've only been friends a short amount of time, but I _need _you to know that I would _never _use you for your fame," I said, starting to shake partially from the cold air and partially from my nerves.

And, partially from the expression of bafflement etched on Nick's face.

Okay, this time I _know _what I said was in no way confusing.

"I spoke English right?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

Nick mirrored my expression. "I think so…but why would you say something like that?" He opened his car door, stood up, and rested his arms on the hood of the Camaro. I noticed offhand that the black sweater he wore only made his facial features sharper…which ended up making my legs feel like leaves in the wind.

Besides my useless legs, it was now my turn to experience confusion.

"Aren't you upset that I was on the live chat?" I asked. "Wouldn't that lead you to believe I only valued our friendship because of JONAS?"

Once I finished this, without a doubt, dramatic question, Nick simply gazed at me with an indiscernible expression in silence.

This didn't really help my nerves…at all.

Is he not going to say _anything_? Thinking that this was so, I placed a foot behind me and prepared to pivot around in the opposite direction.

An unfamiliar noise coming from Nick paused my actions, however.

Laughing. Nick Lucas is full-blown laughing.

Well…it wasn't a booming laugh or anything like that. It sounded more like a chuckle, but that's not the point here. It still affected me like crazy.

Is he laughing at me…or is he laughing _at _me? Same words, different meanings, which would merit either a positive or negative reaction from me.

Okay, the suspense is killing me. "Why are you laughing?" I asked, glad the darkness of the night hid my reddening face.

Nick rubbed a hand over his mouth, easily controlling his amusement. However, his features remained light.

"Jane, trust me when I say this, but from the moment I met you, I knew you weren't a fan girl."

I let out a breath I unknowingly held. "Really?"

The boy across from me nodded resolutely.

"Oh. Well…good," I laughed nervously. It looks like the dramatics weren't necessary after all…and knowing this made me feel incredibly embarrassed. Especially since the two waitresses holding our food noticed our entire exchange.

"Do you still want your food?" the woman holding Nick's food asked hesitantly, looking back and forth between him and me.

"Hm?" the musician shook his head once, appearing to come out of a deep thought session. "Oh, yeah."

We both took our time to pay for our food, and then walked back to our respective cars to put the bags and drinks away.

The question is…do we continue this strange conversation?

Does Nick even want to continue talking to me? I just made an unnecessary scene at Sonic, so maybe I should just go home.

Well, you'll never know until you take action. I chanced a glance back at the red Camaro…

Only to find Nick standing in the same spot.

Why does this make my heart beat faster? And, why do I feel like if this was a movie, chorus music would play enthusiastically.

I really wish the guy standing in front of me would say something.

Ugh, I can't take uncomfortable silences. My will to get in my car and leave came back stronger than before. I stepped back and clapped my hands together, "Well, thanks for the talk Nick; I'll see you at school!" I waved quickly and turned around to walk/run back to my car.

"Wait a second," Nick called out, halting my runaway.

"Hm?" Please Nick, let me just drive home with my food and eat away my embarrassment.

He stuffed his hands in his jean pockets as he took a few steps closer to my spot. Here comes that legs-replaced-by-leaves-in-the-wind feeling again. I placed my hand on a nearby column to casually steady myself and act as calm as possible.

"Are you busy right now?"

"What?" I asked in a cracked voice. Why does he want to know?

Why do I keep asking myself questions?

My high-pitched voice apparently didn't face the taller guy standing in front of me. "Are you _busy _right now?" Nick asked with a hint of amusement. You know, do you have anything to do at the moment that would keep you from hanging out with _me_?"

Wait, that's all he wanted to ask me? I wanted to just laugh at my ridiculous behavior. Friends want to hang out with each other all the time.

Apparently my lack of response started to bother Nick, because his lips twitched.

"I'm kind of doing homework right now," I explained apologetically. "I just came here to stock up on carbohydrates."

My eyes must have played a trick on me. The musician actually appeared crestfallen. He must have really wanted me to hang out with him.

"Not that I don't want to hang out with you," I interjected quickly, feeling warm and tingly from my previous realization. "I'd love keep you company, Nick, but this French poem is really kicking my butt. In fact, if you check the newspaper on Wednesday, you might find my obituary in the newspaper."

A ghost of a smile appeared on his face. "Well, before you suffer from an untimely death, do you want to hang out tomorrow and work on the poem together?"

I gave a sigh of appreciation. "That sounds great! I could really use some help since it took me seven hours to come up with one verse."

I also appreciated how Nick gave no comment to that. It probably only took him thirty seconds to come up with one verse.

"So," I continued. "My house or yours?"

"How about you come over to my house," he suggested, rubbing his hands together to keep them warm. "I have a few things that might help you with that song of yours as well."

I bounced up and down on the balls of my feet from excitement. Ever since our little jam session earlier in the week, I haven't been able to come up with anything for my new song.

"You are officially my favorite person right now…oh! I almost forgot. How are you feeling? You looked terrible on the live chat," I said oblivious to how rude my statement might have sounded.

"I feel great," Nick mused slowly, unsure of how to react to my blunt question. "Thanks for asking, I guess."

"Awesome," I gave the boy a thumbs up and nodded towards my car. "Well, I'd better get going before my parents think I've been kidnapped. I'll see you at school!"

Nick waved me off, with his face contorted into one of holding back laughter.

I opened my car door and almost got in, but a thought struck me.

"Wait!" I called out to the retreating figure in front of me. Nick looked at me expectantly. "Why are there no words to describe a perfect musical moment?"

Nick clicked his tongue off the roof of his mouth in deep thought, but eventually looked back at me with that award-winning smile.

Brain, please don't fry this time-

Dang it, it did.

Stupid brain.

"You'll find out tomorrow." With that mysterious comment completed, Nick walked back to his car, got in, and drove off.

Which left me staring stupidly after him, and leaning against my car for leg support.

Why does that guy have to be so mysterious about _everything_?

* * *

Yes!!!! Another chapter completed! I have some fun stuff planned for the next one.

I'm not sure how I feel about this chapter because I kept getting writer's block during the writing of it. But, I do hope it wasn't a waste of your time reading it.

Please review and let me know.

Oh yeah, if I messed the French up, please tell me and I will fix it immediately.


	8. Strange Days, Pt 1

Okay, I'm back!!! Sorry, it took a ridiculous amount of time for me to update. But, with a new job that has me working nine hours a day, and with the almost death of my laptop, I have been delayed.

Thanks for all of the beautiful reviews. I greatly appreciate them!

I hope this chapter is worthy of positive reviews.

Read and enjoy! :)

* * *

"I probably won't be home until after dinner," I called out to my parents as I put on my coat and grabbed my bag for the afternoon (I couldn't very well go to Nick's house in my uniform, nor did I want to). My body already felt the low temperatures outside as the cold air seeped under our door.

Maybe it will snow, I thought with a hopeful grin. Snow always brought out the good things in life: hot chocolate, warm fuzzy blanket, quality times with friends and family…

Not to mention AWESOME snowball fights. Sometimes Allison, Adam, and I almost freeze to death because of how long we spend outside in the snow. It's so worth it, though. To feel like a kid again? Nothing better.

Plus, pouring snow down both of my friends' shirts always brought the best expressions which would make my day.

"Where are you going after school?" my mother appeared around the corner with a questioning face.

"Nick Lucas asked me to hang out with him after school," I explained, feeling that weird flutter again. I must be hungry or something. Though…I usually don't feel this excited or happy when I'm hungry…

I can be a downright witch if I'm hungry. Just ask my friends or family; they can share many horror stories.

I faced my mom and almost laughed at the strange expression her face. She looked like she had never been happier. Is she really that ecstatic over me hanging out with someone else besides Adam or Allison?

"Really?" she squeaked hopefully.

I cocked an eyebrow. Her reaction's just a tad out of the ordinary for me. "Yeah…why are y-"

"Honey! Jane has a date!" she squealed excitedly towards the kitchen.

"Really?" I heard my dad ask in the same demeanor as my mom. "Go get him, Jane!"

It took me a moment to figure out what my mom's deal was, but when I heard the word 'date' escape her mouth, I got it. My eyes widened and I feverishly shook my head.

"What? No!" I stated in a high-pitched panic. "It is most definitely not a date!" Dates were supposed to involve dinner by candlelight and chick flicks. Right? Plus, the thought of Nick and I together like that twisted my stomach into knots. Which strangely felt like the flutter from earlier.

My mom lost her vigor and gazed at me with confusion.

"But…he asked you to hang out with him right?"

"Just because a guy asks you to hang out with him doesn't mean that it is a date," I said quickly, already feeling my body temperature go up.

"Then why are you blushing?" My dad, who had come from the kitchen asked with a knowing expression.

"Because you're embarrassing me!" I brought my purple scarf up around my face, and put my hand on the door knob, preparing myself for a quick escape.

Gosh, what is wrong with my parents? They have never behaved like this before, and I definitely don't like it.

My mother hit her husband lightly on the arm and controlled her excitement. "Sorry, Jane. Have fun and be back before eleven."

The quick change of attitude threw me off for a second. They basically looked like they wanted to throw a party in my honor a split second ago, and now they looked like they care less. If this were a movie, Twilight Zone music would play right about now.

Whatever, I wanted to get out of there, so I flew out of the door and got into my car.

While I checked my rearview mirror, my reflection caught my eye…

I am still blushing…

* * *

When a student enters his or her school, they automatically fall into routine. For example, I meet my two best friends at my locker fifteen minutes before the bell rings and have a normal conversation (or what we consider a normal conversation). The same people always walk by and life goes on normally.

Last week kind of smeared the name of normality, sometimes in a good way and sometimes in a bad way.

So yeah, besides the fact I would hang out with Nick after school, today should start out like it always does.

It should…

However, when I think something _should _happen, it _doesn't _happen.

I kind of realized this truth once I entered the school.

"Allison! Wait!" Adam yelled as said girl marched briskly towards me

She looks _ticked_. By pure instinct, I took a step back and braced myself. An angry Allison isn't someone to be trifled with.

"Hi Jane," the fuming blond grit out louder than necessary. "Do you hear something?"

"Uh…" I drew out slowly, trying to delay my answer until Adam caught up with us. Plus, I didn't want to get in the middle of their feud. I tried that once, and my ears almost bled.

"Yeah, I don't hear anything either," Allison finished for me, her eyes flashing back at the guy who frantically ran up to us. "_Unless_ you consider anything coming from the hormonal teenager behind us worthy of your ears."

My eyebrows shot up towards the ceiling and I stared at Adam in shock.

"_What_?!" A part of me wanted to laugh at how serious Allison appeared when she stated her accusation, while another part of me wanted to smack Adam upside the head for possibly being offensive.

Then, I realized this is Adam we're talking about here.

The word 'offensive' probably doesn't even exist in the boy's head.

"No, no, no!" the blushing accused shook his head resolutely. "Allison, you're making something out of nothing."

"I saw you looking at her!"

"She said '_hi_' to me!"

The blond folded her arms with "Hmph!" and turned her head away from the incredulous expressions on both Adam and me.

"Let me get this straight," I ventured kind of getting what happened into perspective. "Allison…you're upset with Adam because he _looked _at another girl?" My eyes briefly met Adam's; wishing he also was getting it.

From the hopeful glint I saw in his eyes, though, I'm guessing he did.

"Yeah. While _I _was talking to him," Allison scowled, still oblivious to what she was saying.

"As I said before," Adam explained at a snail's pace. "She said '_hi_.'"

"You didn't have to say 'hi' back," she countered.

Yeah, she's totally going to lose this argument.

"That would be rude."

And, Adam's going to win.

"You're rude!"

Really, Allison? Really?

"What?"

Exactly.

"A polite guy wouldn't split his attention between two people!"

Come on Adam; say something to end this nonsense.

"You're just saying that because you're jealous!"

Right on the mark.

"Wh-what?" Allison sputtered after the bantering came to an abrupt halt. "Th-that's not what I was talking about…completely beside the point…" Her face quickly turned to a deep shade of red.

"Were you?" Adam asked quietly with a hint of confidence. A ghost of a smile became apparent when the girl in front of him fidgeted with her hands.

An electric silence bestowed upon the two, and for a moment I thought Allison would never speak up.

"Who cares if I was," Allison muttered and quickly walked away mumbling about being late to class (even though the bell hadn't rung yet), leaving both of us stunned.

Did she secretly like Adam too? If so, does she still have a crush on Nick (if there ever really was a crush)?

I feel relieved all of a sudden; like some huge weight has lifted off of my heart. Though what I feel relieved over went over my head. All these different emotions are running through me, and I have no idea what to make of them.

I stiffly turned to Adam and smiled once I saw the brightest expression I had ever seen on the boy. He continued to gaze dreamily where Allison had turned the corner and disappeared from view.

I laughed and patted him on the back.

"Are you happy, Adam?"

"Very."

* * *

I won't bore you with the details of the rest of my school day. Nothing else happened. The basic premise was: Adam had a goofy smile on his face, Allison hid from the both of us, and I couldn't get rid of the feeling of my stomach twisting into knots.

Okay, so these ninja knots happened to occur every time I caught sight of a certain musician. I guess you could say I was nervous going over to Nick Lucas' house after school. I usually stick close to Allison and Adam, so going over to Nick's house was a huge change for me.

So, when the final bell rang for French, I excused myself from Nick and Adam and ran to my locker to retrieve my afternoon bag.

I changed into a pair of jeans, a purple long-sleeved tee, and my white flats.

Sadly, this is what I consider dressing up (besides my school uniform).

Not that I'm dressing up for Nick…I just wanted to appear presentable at his house. Even though my bruised nose rendered everything else moot.

I quickly exited the bathroom, knowing that it was rude to keep the musician waiting while I looked at myself in a mirror. My nose wouldn't change back to normal no matter how much I wish it would.

Nick stood by the main doors of the Horace Mantis Academy, still wearing his school outfit and holding a rather large keyboard. To me, the instrument appeared to weigh a ton, but the musician held it like any jock would hold a basketball.

His unfocused eyes blinked and finally noticed me coming towards him.

I smiled and waved, "Hey, sorry if you waited for too long; I just wanted to get into some regular clothes."

Nick shook his head with a simple grin, "I just got here a few seconds ago. So, you're ready to go-"

"Joe, get back here!" a familiar, feminine voice broke the almost silence of the hallways.

The grin left Nick's face. He placed a hand over his eyes and let out an annoyed sigh.

"Never!" the middle Lucas yelled and ran straight towards us.

Man…and I thought Allison won in the evil-looks department. If Stella touched anything at the moment…it would burst into flame. And yes, I just imagined her doing so.

"Scary," I whispered.

The boy next to me gave me a curious glance.

"It's okay," he muttered lowly (which strangely sent chills down my spine). "This isn't out of the ordinary. It _always _happens."

Always…

You know, the sight kind of reminded me of Allison chasing Adam down. Except, with the Nick stared down Joe, I'm going to guess the middle Lucas wasn't as sickeningly innocent and nice as Adam (not that I'm claiming Joe as a terrible person; _no one _can top Adam's congeniality).

"So, what did your brother do to Stella?" I questioned under my breath seeing as the pair coming towards us would have heard me.

Nick lowly scoffed, "It depends, and…oh no…"

I knit my eye brows at the abrupt change of subject. Oh no? Oh no what? I had no time to put my questioning thoughts into words, however. Nick had suddenly wrapped his hand around my wrist and was now leading me away from the still-frantic Joe.

Uh…

Crap, my brain died again. Dang it!

Stupid masculine hands breaking my noggin and rendering my legs useless! I had to have tripped over my feet at least six times before Nick and I even got outside.

The frigid air put my body back into proper action, and I questioned the random escape from Joe and Stella. Hypothetically, if my brother needed help or looked in trouble, I would stay and help; not grab some poor girl and turn her insides to goo.

I hate goo.

Scratch that. I love the goo they always show on the commercials where the kids play with it and make it into a random animal. What was it called again?

Oh, Nick-the-maker-of-gooey-insides is talking.

"-we're much better off not bearing witness to that," he responded to my earlier question, his breath fogging in the air. "I know my brother, and if Stella is on his heels, he will involve the both of us in the argument just because he can't man up to it."

"Sounds entertaining," I shrugged. I kept touching my wrist, trying to get the tingles to stop. Stop it, wrist.

"It was at first, but now it's like watching re-runs on the Disney channel. There's no end to it."

"You watch the Disney channel?"

Nick paused and for a second I thought he would try and deny it like every other guy would. But then he simply nodded his head. "Yeah, I'm not going to lie. I do watch the Disney channel occasionally."

That statement totally made my day. I smiled widely and laughed. "That's good to hear. I still watch cartoons."

"That's good to hear, too."

If I was to describe the boy standing in front of me in one word right now, the word would definitely be _warm_.

Do you know what I mean by warm? I don't mean it in the temperature sense (because he's probably very cold right now). But…I guess I'm talking about his disposition; his character.

Sure, on the outside Nick Lucas appears stiff and cold, but once you get to know him, it's quite the opposite of what you pictured.

He's just warm. Not too hot or too cold.

Forgive me for sounding clichéd, but Nick is just right.

No wonder I like hanging out with the boy so much. I basically consider him perfect.

I frowned at this thought as Nick and I walked together in silence towards his car. Nobody can be perfect, Jane. So stop thinking that way.

* * *

"Okay, first song; your pick," Nick stated as we pulled out of the school parking lot.

"Such a gentleman," I sighed and then rolled my eyes in amusement.

I scooted towards the iPod to scroll through his songs, but seeing as Nick had ten thousand songs, I figured it would be best to separate the songs by genre and just pick one at random.

"This would be easier if you didn't have a million songs," I muttered.

Okay…I feel a bit jealous, but who wouldn't? One of these days, I am going to save my money and have an outrageous shopping spree on iTunes, and then I'll buy ten thousand and _one _songs just to outdo Nick.

"I thought there was only ten thousand?" said person asked, glancing out of the corner of his eye.

I scoffed, "_Only _ten thousand. Right. My bad. Because, that amount is so trivial."

"If you were in my situation too, you would buy that much."

Dang it, he's right. I scowled and made sure Nick saw it.

Well…he's laughing/chuckling, so I guess he did see my expression.

"Ha ha," I laugh sarcastically. "Laugh it up."

Nick continued to do so. Stupid boy.

It took me a few more moments for me to find the exact song I wanted to listen to. With such a selection to choose from, I wanted to be sure to pick a good one.

Nick has great taste in music so it took me a while.

I sat back with a content sigh once "Sideways" by Citizen Cope began to play.

"You like Citizen Cope?" Nick asked as he turned on his exit.

"I've only heard this song from them, so I don't know. I rate the songs apart from the band usually." There are only a few bands that I'm an actual fan of.

"You said usually," the driver pointed out, appearing interested in the developing conversation. "So, you do have favorite bands?"

"A few," I conceded with a wave of my hand. "I like Lifehouse, Matchbox Twenty, Switchfoot, U2, Coldplay, The Beatles, and…*mumble*"

Nick crinkled his forehead in confusion. "And who? I didn't hear the last one."

I laughed nervously and directed my attention toward the rearview mirror. "Really? Well, I said I also like Taylor *mumble*…"

"Just say it," Nick coaxed.

I sighed in defeat, "I like Taylor Swift." Yeah, I know. What girl doesn't like Taylor Swift? What can I say? I was too embarrassed to tell Nick. Not a lot of the male population ranks the country/pop singer high on their playlists.

I sure wish the guy sitting next to me would say something.

Great, he probably wants to kick me out of his car. Or worse, never speak to me again.

I was about to turn around and say, "Just kidding! Gotcha!" But, the blaring of "You Belong with Me" cut me off.

"_You_ have Taylor Swift on your iPod?" I asked in disbelief, turning around with wide eyes.

Nick lightly nodded, "Yeah, I do."

My heart pounded faster, but I noticed that it wasn't from fear or anticipation, but from…from…uh…

Okay, I have idea what from, but it felt like a good feeling.

"Tha-that's, uh, wow," I stuttered while trying to find the meaning of my rapidly beating heart.

"More guys like Taylor Swift than you think," Nick pointed out, like he read my mind from earlier.

"You just have the guts to admit it," I said to myself.

Maybe I should re-think over nobody being perfect…because this guy is doing an awesome job of proving me wrong.

It was at that moment, I felt like someone was watching me. I flicked my eyes towards the driver, but Nick kept his eyes on the road all innocent-like.

Maybe I just imagined it.

* * *

"Mom! Dad!" The youngest Lucas called out as we walked into the _very nice _firehouse.

When Nick told me he lived in a firehouse, I had a funny picture of the three Lucas brothers surrounded by a dozen Mike-Tyson-sized firefighters cheering over a pint, while making a mess of the place.

But no…a normal, clean house. I sneaked a glance at Nick. He simply placed his keyboard on the plush couch in the living room, and his school bag on the floor.

It felt nice seeing Nick in this environment. Completely relaxed, and just a normal atmosphere.

He must have felt my observing eyes on him, for he suddenly turned around with a questioning glance. I whipped my eyes away from him and pretended to look elsewhere.

"I guess my parents aren't home yet," I heard Nick mumble to himself. "Kevin said he has glee club practice late, so-"

"I thought Kevin was on the cheerleading squad?" It is a well-known fact at Horace Mantis that the eldest Lucas is a dedicated member (and only guy) on the cheerleading squad.

Nick gained a tight-lipped expression, "Oh, he is. But, ever since he saw the animal-print club shirts the glee club had, he had to have one. So, he joined."

Well…what does one say to that without laughing their butts off? Especially after I imagined Kevin in a white turtle neck with turtles printed on it while singing "Don't Stop Believing."

"Ah."

Nick didn't look convinced of my composure, but he still continued. "Anyways, Joe will probably have to bribe Stella with dinner and a movie, and Frankie has play rehearsal, so it looks like it will be just the two of us for a while."

"Oh, that's fine," I shrugged, not really understanding the concept of two unrelated teenagers of the opposite sex being alone under the same roof.

And, I wouldn't realize the awkwardness of the situation until I left.

* * *

Okay, get your minds out of the gutter now. Nothing above the rating of K+ is going to be happening in this story. I just thought I would clear that up.

I was planning on making this chapter longer, but future events belong better with the next chapter. So, don't think I'm prolonging the inevitable or anything like that.

I am now halfway through with the next chapter, so the next update will come much sooner than this one. Again, I apologize over the longevity of the wait, but I do thank you all for the encouraging reviews. Hopefully, this chapter deserves them as well.

Back to writing. A lot of fun things are going to happen in the next chapter. Later.


	9. Strange Days, Pt 2

I know, I know. Terrible person, right here. Life has been pretty hectic. I resigned from the bank, which resulted in no inspiration to write, and then it took me a month to find another job. So, there you have it. A very good excuse for my lack of updating.

I think you guys will enjoy this chapter, though. So, stop reading my rambling and read the chapter!!

Oh yeah, and please review.

* * *

"Why do the French have a different word for _everything_?" I spit out, tossing my pencil on the table out of frustration. Then, I remembered it wasn't my table, and quickly retrieved the pencil with an apologetic look.

Nick simply shook his head, which told me that everything was okay. Which surprised me, considering the poor guy has been helping me with my poem for the past hour…without much success. Besides my eraser diminishing by half, that is.

Even if the quiet musician next to me forgave my small outburst from before, he still appeared to show his own version of frustration. Nick had his hand covering his mouth and his eyes looked like they were about to bore a hole in the dinner table we sat at.

"Sorry," I apologized with a sigh and lightly bumped my fist against his arm that rested lazily on the table.

Good Lord, is this guy made of steel?! My hand actually _hurts _from the friendly gesture.

"There's nothing to apologize for," Man o'Steel said stretching his arms over his head, which kept my rapt attention for a good five seconds.

I snapped out of my random arm-gazing, and immediately wanted to slap myself hard. Gosh, what is wrong with me? I never behave like this. I'm like one of those middle-aged moms in the movie theater watching the Twilight series.

My sudden interest in Nick's physical features disturbed me to some degree. It's not like I paid attention to Adam's handsome attributes, nor any other guy for that matter. What does that say about my friendship with the youngest Lucas?

Does that make me superficial?

I could go on about my inner rant that started to give me a headache, but Nick just mentioned something.

"-if you wanted to work on your song instead?"

"Huh?" I snapped back to attention.

My boy sitting by me shook his head with a soft exhale. "You know, maybe your problem in French is your lack of wanting to stay on a place I like to call Earth."

I dropped my mouth open out of offense. "What? Sometimes I just have a lot on my mind!" Definitely not a lie. Ever since last week, I've been having this recurring problem. I could simply blame it all on Nick (since most of it _is_ his fault), but as a guest in his house, that would be rude. "I will have you know I pay rapt attention in all of my classes."

"Just not afterward…"

"Shut up," I muttered, closing my textbook. "Just tell me what you said earlier."

Thankfully, Nick got the hint and nodded. "I was wondering if you wanted to work on your song instead of getting a migraine over the poem."

"Too late on the migraine, but I would love to work on my song," I grinned and happily pushed my books away from me. My eyes then scanned the room for an important item…an item that I could not find…

"Crap, I forgot my guitar," I sighed and rolled my eyes at myself. Nice going Jane, you fail at getting any work done on your poem, and you forget your guitar. "Maybe I do only pay attention at school."

I felt a light nudge on my shoulder which caused me to look up and meet the brown eyes of Nick. He gazed back with a carefree expression (something I haven't seen on him as of yet).

"It's okay, Jane," he said letting his lighthearted expression also come through his tone of voice. "You can use one of mine."

The warm statement caused me to grin, and forget about the stress from earlier. I stood up with a hop, "Who am I to refuse such generosity? Please lead the way Mr. Lucas."

Nick appeared pleased and amused with my over-the-top response.

* * *

We made our way up the stairs, and I dropped my mouth open when I saw the huge open area full of…well…._everything_. A drum set, guitar racks, a big screen television with surround sound speakers, an enormous couch, candy machines, coke machines, a random machine with random electronic devices, a piano, a workout area, and a freaking _studio_.

"You have a _studio_ in your _bedroom_?" I asked as if it was the most unfair thing in the world.

Nick affirmed my question with a simple nod. "My parents thought it necessary because of how excited our fans get in the streets. We don't have to worry about getting to our studio because it's already here."

A part of me itched to run inside the recording booth and experience it for the first time, but then someone snapped their fingers in front of my eyes.

"I'm paying attention!" I immediately defended myself. It's sort of a tick I have when it comes to people snapping me out of my thoughts…even if I had no idea of what was happening.

Nick lowered his hand with a skeptical eye. "Oh really? Then what did I just say?"

I really dislike it when people ask me that question. It blows my cover.

"Fine," I muttered, folding my arms. "I have no idea."

With a tiny smirk, he nodded. "I thought as much. But, enough of your inability to pay attention to me-"

I tried to defend myself with a squeak of insult, but Nick continued on without _paying attention to_ _me_.

Hypocrite.

"I tried to ask you if you wanted to play the Gibson acoustic or electric."

…

"Huh?"

Gibson…guitar…supposedly one of the best instruments available…

"Are you serious?" Nick would trust me to play one of his very expensive guitars?

This, coming from a guy who probably names all of his musical instruments.

Said person beckoned me to follow him towards the drum set.

"Acoustic or electric?" he asked again. I guess that means 'yes.' I wanted to reply with "That's mighty sweet of you Nick," but then I realized how stupid that sounded. That's what happens when you watch Oklahoma! the night before.

I watched as the musician studied his own guitar rack, walking around the variety of guitars he had. Some, I have seen in magazines, and others I wondered if they even were guitars. You know the one's that look like V's or Z's…modern guitar makers must be obsessed with the alphabet, which does not make any sense.

However, as excited and confused as I felt over playing an exclusive guitar, I found myself watching Nick.

I know, a guitar player looking for a guitar, whoop-dee-flippin-doo. It wouldn't have been worth gazing at if he didn't make the process appear so precise and meticulous. Almost like an artist searching for the right color.

"I'm not picky you know," I called out with a grin forming on my lips. What can I say? The sight was endearing.

"You may not be, but I am," Nick responded, never taking his eyes off of the instruments as he continued to circle the contraption. After a moment, he paused and with a content sigh, he picked up a mahogany acoustic guitar.

Nick brought it over and held it out to me as if he were a knight handing over his sword. You know…except without the kneeling. That would have been weird.

"What's her name?" I joked rhetorically.

"Martha."

Again, that was a rhetorical question.

* * *

Nick and I had both settled on the floor, sitting Indian-style with our (his) guitars in our laps. I felt skittish holding a guitar that cost more than my life. My fingers barely touched the well-polished strings and my other hand rested on the floor.

Nick must have noticed my nerves because he raised an eyebrow.

"You do know how to play a guitar right?" Absentmindedly, his fingers plucked a few notes.

"Yes," I said indignantly. "I'm just afraid to break Martha, and suddenly owe you a large amount of money accompanied by a large amount of guilt."

"Are you planning to throw her out the window?"

"No…"

"Then you're fine."

I laughed and slowly pressed my fingertips against the strings of the Gibson, making a C-major chord. I retrieved my purple pick from my pocket and strummed the chord lightly. The sound quality put chills down my spine, and I immediately formed a B-minor chord and strummed again.

"Martha is awesome," I stated dreamily.

"Yes, she is," Nick mused with a ghost of smile. My eyes met his, and for a moment I swore a faint blush appeared on his face. The idea in itself caused my face to heat up, so I immediately focused on Martha.

I heard a clearing of the throat which caused me look back up. Whatever I saw on Nick's face had disappeared and he appeared like he always did.

I don't know why…it disappointed me.

"So, have you made any progress on the song since our jam session?"

I made a face that clearly said 'no.' Nick then made an expression of his own that I took as, 'you're a terrible person.'

"I've had other things on my mind," I said with a shrug, and continued strumming different chords. "Too many things going through my mind. I can't focus."

Whoa, way to get deep Jane. I didn't mean to share so much with Nick. Not that I didn't want to, but we've only known each other a little more than a week.

"Take a breath," Nick suddenly said, though a bit quieter than usual.

"I take breaths all the time," I said in confusion. "It's necessary for humans."

The guy across from me sighed while glancing up at the ceiling. "That is not what I meant, Jane. I mean when everything is going through your mind at once, just take a breath."

I laughed at my own stupidity. Of course that's what he meant. A question popped in my mind though. "How many times do you have to take breaths?"

"Every time I get ready to write a song."

At that moment I realized even more how normal Nick Lucas is. He has all of the same issues as a teenager going through high school. Sure, he makes millions by singing to an equal amount of fans, but every now and then everyone has to sort out their own thoughts.

"That's really cool, Nick," I smiled. I then realized how odd it is to say mental troubles are cool. "I mean, it's cool that you keep it real."

"My brother's and I are fortunate enough to be surrounded by good people," he agreed and grinned back with his lips curved to one side. His eyes seemed to sparkle as he spoke, and I really couldn't help but appreciate the sight.

After that nice little moment, we finally got to work on the song. Nick played a few free-style tunes, hoping to give me an idea of where I wanted the song to go. I think we both agreed that the lyrics needed to remain light and simple, yet still hold a deep feeling about it.

"How about a jazzy feel to it?" Nick pondered while plucking a few notes in a catchy rhythm. I did the same while softly singing (because there was no way I was going to let Nick hear my voice) the lyrics in tune with the melody.

_I walked the streets_

_Listening to everything_

_Wondering if now's the time, _

_To show these feelings of mine._

_It's so easy, yet not;_

_The cliché romance plot_

_I must tell you how I feel_

_And break this shatterproof seal_

I frowned, not really feeling the jazz. "It's a little heavy," I said.

"And you said you weren't picky," Nick mumbled.

I scoffed, "Whatever, you're probably ten times worse." I could see a frustrated Nick staying up through the night with his hair sticking out every which way and crumpled papers strewn all around him. And poor Kevin and Joe, cowering in a corner from the wrath of their youngest brother.

A silence resumed, and I knew that my mental image was right. Yes, I do congratulate myself.

I played around with a few chords again, trying to lose myself in the music. It didn't help that my fingers kept hesitating over the strings. I'm not as fluid as I should be on the fret board. Every few moments I would hear a terrible tinny sound come from Martha.

Throughout my frustration, I came out of focus with my surroundings and didn't hear a pair of footsteps heading toward my location.

"Your fingers are too close to the other strings," Nick said as he sat down on my right.

I know what you're thinking. Jane is freaking out, blushing, and everything else that goes along with it. Sorry to disappoint, but I don't feel uncomfortable at all. Gasp! I know. Weird. But, remember when I said Nick was warm…well, that warmness had a mysterious way of calming me down.

"What do you mean?" I asked, glimpsing at my fingering. It seemed correct to me.

Nick had his guitar with him and showed how his fingers graced the strings. It definitely appeared less sloppy than mine. Flicking my eyes back and forth, I eventually corrected the movement, and strummed again, creating the perfect sound.

We spent the next couple of minutes practicing moving up and down the fret board. Nick, of course, moved around like lightning…while I appeared to be in slow motion.

Eventually, I got to the point where I didn't care what note I played. It surprised me how natural and wonderful the tone sounded, but it still didn't help me and my lyric problem.

I started to realize, however, that this would not have been a problem if I had actually experienced the emotions described in my song.

Love…

I love my friends and family…I love food…and I love music. Same word, but different emotions.

Stupid English…there's one word that can mean _anything_.

I glanced to my right and Nick was still lost in the music. Lucky guy. He knows all about love and he can write all of those amazing songs. Sure, there is constant heart-break, but at least he knows what it feels like.

Maybe it's time that I start looking for a boyfriend.

I then realized I was still gazing at Nick when I thought that.

Don't even start thinking about crazy things like that, Jane. If you ever get a boyfriend, you'll probably meet him in the Wal-Mart checkout line.

The problem is, I never really thought about guys in the boyfriend way. They've been great friends and good punching bags ever since I knew how to punch.

Maybe my hormones forgot to develop during junior high…

* * *

"Don't worry, Jane. If you really want to finish the song, the lyrics will come to you," Nick encouraged me as we got in his car. As quickly as the evening began, it ended…very much to my chagrin.

"I'm fine," I stated as I sat in the passenger's seat. Ah…heated leather seats…my butt really appreciates them. "After all, I don't have a due date on my songs like you do."

Nick chuckled softly in agreement as he turned the ignition on. Automatically, his iPod turned on and "Use Somebody" by the Kings of Leon blasted through the speakers.

Both of us sat in comfortable silence as the music played, but every now and then I felt compelled to sneak a glance at the driver. He looked so calm all the time, but you could just tell that probably a million and one things were racing through his mind.

I wonder if any of those thoughts are about me. This thought made my head turn away and grin slightly as I thought along those lines. I don't know how to describe the feeling, but shy and giddy could suffice.

I never really felt like that before.

"You know…" I heard Nick start, but then automatically stop.

My little moment disappeared and I turned towards the youngest Lucas with a questioning smile. Gah, I can't stop smiling! Stop it Jane.

Nick kept his eyes on the road, but he definitely appeared to want to say something.

"What?" I asked, finally able keep my smile down to a small grin.

He shook his head, as if telling me to forget about it.

"Come on, you started the thought. Now finish it," I demanded. I _really _wanted to know what he was thinking about. So, I continued to look at him intensely, trying to get that bit of information.

It probably shouldn't sound that dramatic, but it _is _what I was doing.

Nick appeared to give in to my gaze, and his cheeks even tinged a bit red.

It can't be that embarrassing, can it? Seriously, if he knew all of my embarrassing moments, he would probably feel comfortable enough to tell me anything. Which strangely sounded appealing to me.

"I just…wanted to say…" the driver hesitated which each word, scratching behind his right ear in-between the awkward pauses he provided. Not to mention he kept his eyes on the road the entire time. As much as I appreciated his driver's safety (since I definitely did not want to crash and burn on the highway), I wanted him to look at me when he spoke.

I wanted to see those stupid sparkles he got in his eyes when we were working on my song.

With one last pause, Nick finally finished his statement. "I had a great time with you tonight."

"Y-you did?" I asked, surprised at the compliment. Seriously? We didn't even make any progress on my poem…or my song.

The air in here is starting to feel a bit constricted.

Oh gosh…maybe I'm actually _allergic _to the awesomeness that is Nick.

I expected him to add something else to his previous compliment, but Nick simply responded by nodding.

…

That's all? No offense, but I felt extremely disappointed by that response. Then again…what did I expect? A tap dance? A serenade? An offer of a refreshing beverage?

Well, none of those options appealed to me (well, except for the serenade) so I decided to make up my own option.

"Maybe you should come over to my house next time," I brought up, still looking out the window. I immediately felt a blunt pain on my forehead when the car suddenly swerved to the left and my unprepared head hit the glass.

Not exactly the reaction I expected…or desired…

"Are you okay?!" Nick asked frantically (seriously, it really did sound frantic). He continued to apologize repeatedly while I had squeezed my eyes shut and prayed my loud mouth would not spew out those unnecessary words I had used at the hospital. It took me a moment to finally open them, but when I did, I swear…Nick looked like he was about to have an aneurism. He was currently muttering to himself with his brow furrowed and his back hunched over with his hands gripping the life out of the steering wheel.

I don't know if you guys find this funny…but I find the image funnier than a penguin pushing another penguin down a hill.

I gave into the hilarity of the situation and ensued with rambunctious laughter. My back leaned against the seat and my hands placed themselves over my stomach while I tried to control my loud and obnoxious laughter.

Nick's completely clueless expression only made it worse.

"Did you-? Aw, you should have seen- your _face_!" I don't care if I sounded like a complete fool. Everyone needs a good laugh once in a while.

Unfortunately, Nick did not share my enthusiasm.

"I don't see how me almost causing you brain damage is funny," he muttered, refusing to take his eyes off of the road. "Unless I really did damage your head."

Calming down a little, and wiping a few tears from my eyes, I waved my hand. "Lighten up, Nick. It was funny and you know it."

The driver let a small grin escape his cool exterior. He shook his head at my absurdity, and turned into the school parking lot where my stayed by itself. Aw poo…the night's over. That thought made me sober up completely.

"Of course the fun stuff always happens at the end," I sulked and unbuckled my seatbelt.

"I happened to enjoy the entire night," Nick said under his breath.

As I turned around to retrieve my bag, I felt a pair of eyes on me so I paused and turned my head back to meet the culprit's gaze. Unfortunately, Nick's eyes had flicked away from mine and his hands gripped the steering wheel tighter. The action unnerved me, and I felt a need to get of the car and breathe fresh air instead of the warm and sticky atmosphere of the camaro.

"Gotta go," I squeaked and opened the door.

"I'd love to come over some time," Nick's shy voice stalled my quick getaway. My ears then caught a tearing sound, and a small piece of paper appeared in my line of vision. I stared at the familiar scrawl on the paper almost as if the idea of Nick giving me his phone number was alien to me.

I shakily took the paper and couldn't ignore the return of the warm fuzzy feeling.

The youngest Lucas cleared his throat, and I snapped out of Cloud Nine. Oh right…I should probably give him my number too. I patted myself down and realized I didn't have a piece of paper handy. I had a pin…but no paper.

Oh well, I guess Nick's arm will have to do.

The musician grunted in surprise when I grabbed his arm and scribbled my number on his forearm.

I do love how I can surprise him.

* * *

So, Nick and I eventually parted ways after he got over the fact I had written all over his arm, and I drove home singing loud to my music. After getting home, I skipped inside my house, still feeling giddy over the tiny piece of paper in my hand.

"I'm hooooooommmmeee!" I called out in a sing-song voice. Hmm, I wonder if my Mom still has dinner left out. I could always go for her outrageously delicious home-cooking.

"In the living room," I heard my mom call out.

I found my parents watching television, well, my _dad _was watching television while my mother held an expression of excitement towards me. It kind of unsettled me because I didn't really know why my mom looked at me as if I was the most amazing person alive.

"What…?" I asked starting to fidget over the googly eyes.

Oh no.

She didn't find out about me sneaking some M&M's into my Statistics class, did she? Is she trying to psych me out because I'm in trouble?

That tattle tale principal! Whatever his name is.

"I only ate three, I swear!" my mouth automatically blurted out and subsequently made my parents jump. They now stared at me with disturbed expressions.

Okay…maybe my illegal M&M consumption isn't the issue at hand.

Whoopsies.

"What are you talking about Jane?" My dad slowly asked, his eyes flicking back and forth between the basketball game and my random outburst. He does love his sports.

"Nothing," I shake my head quickly. "Anyways, got to go and-"

"Not so fast," my mom interrupted, getting up off of the sofa and came towards me. The googly eyes slowly returned.

"Stop it," I whined and backed away. "You're freaking me out." I looked over to my dad for help, but of course, his attention remained on the game.

"So…" my mom egged me on. "How was it?"

I furrowed my eyebrows. "How was what?"

My mom's eyes widened and appeared disappointed at my answer. How could I answer her if I didn't know what she was talking about?

"Your _date_, Jane!" she crossed her arms with a little smile.

Oh my gosh. She's still on about that unrealistic idea? I scoffed and walked out of the room, laughing to myself.

However, the more I laughed, the more the act became forced. My laughter is usually never forced. It comes right after food on my list of favorite things.

"Jane!" My mother whined some more, and came after me…which only made me walk faster towards the stair case.

"Come on," she continued. "Girl talk time!!"

Okay, now _that _made me laugh naturally. My mom acted like…well…my age.

"Forget it mom," I said going upstairs to my room. "Nick and I are just friends."

"But, that's no fun!" the muffled voice of my mom came through my recently closed bedroom door.

I wanted to say that I was already having fun taunting her, but then I remembered she could ground me…

Anyways, my mother eventually gave up on her want of girl-talk (thanks to my dad and his dislike of loud noises disrupting his ballgame), and with a sigh of relief, I plopped down on my bed and stared at the ceiling.

I know the previous sentence was the most boring thing ever, but I just thought you would like to know. The reason I stared boringly at the ceiling, however, remained at fault of me trying to think of anything that would inspire me to finish my song.

It's not that I want to be a song writer in the future or anything, but it would be nice to take one of my hobbies seriously once in my life.

Maybe I should have stuck with basket weaving…

With that thought aside, I feel inspired to write something, but I just don't know what that _something_ is. I like what I'm writing right now, but every time I try to continue with the process I get this stupid mental block. It really doesn't make any sense to me, seeing as writing has always come naturally to me. I can write songs about boys from my elementary years and giant robots from space, but not about love.

As much as the situation frustrated me, however, I could not deny how much I enjoyed Nick Lucas's company.

He doesn't seem to mind my craziness while I don't mind his…well, there's nothing wrong with him. I guess I'm the only one with the craziness which is a very depressing thought.

But, I must be a glutton for punishment if I want to keep spending time with him.

Yeah, I am. Half of the time we spend together, I'm either completely comfortable or about to throw up. I mean, it only happens when he looks me straight in the eyes or happens to touch me or says things that makes my heart melt/explode…

I pushed my face into my pillow, trying to overcome the extreme heat flooding to my cheeks when I thought back to when Nick gave me his phone number.

He acted so shy and demure.

Is it strange to think that's sexy?

Overcome with confusion and butterflies, I pounded my fist on the mattress like an immature little girl. It runs in the family…

"_You've been hit by; you've been struck by…a smooth criminal!_"

Ah, Allison's calling me.

I brought my face out of the pillow and blew the strewn hair out of my face while pressing the ringing phone to my ear. I am so ready for any distraction.

"You are going to be so proud of me," Allison automatically stated once I hit the answer button. I could just imagine her placing both of her hands on her hips proudly with her nose sticking up in the air.

"Really?" I asked, amused. Just the distraction I needed. "What'd you do? Help an old lady across the street without asking for money in return?"

Oh, you think I'm kidding…sadly no…

"Jane, for the last time, I was twelve and stupid," my friend growled. "And no, that did not happen."

"So you _did _ask for money-"

"Shut up!" Allison snapped.

I love these moments…

"Sorry, sorry," I laughed and let her continue.

"As I _said_," Allison spoke irate. "You are going to be so proud."

"What did you do?" If it wasn't an act of kindness, what would I be proud of?

Oh! I know! She got an A on her Algebra II test!

"I talked to him."

Nope. Never mind.

Since my inner guess struck out, I narrowed my eyes in confusion. "Who?"

Allison coughed uncomfortably. "You know…him."

"Is 'him' his name?" I asked completely clueless. "Otherwise I have no idea who you're talking about. Please specify."

While Allison mumbled a few unkind, yet hilarious sounding things, my mind unscrambled itself to figure out who she was talking about.

Van Dyke? No…he's still scared of her the last time they spoke. Randall? Uh, no. Too wimpy. That random dude who always stands behind her in the lunch line? No…Allison has standards, and that guy's just creepy.

There's only one other guy in my mind who would fit the description.

Could she mean…? No, no…it's too soon. But still, maybe it could be…

Did her and Adam finally admit their feelings to each other and spend the rest of the night frolicking around cementing their much-delayed relationship?!

The romantic thought made me squeal involuntary in excitement.

"You go girl!" I exclaimed in girlish excitement.

"I know right?!" Allison squealed in the same tone.

Wow, that dilemma is finally over. One weight has now magically floated off of my shoulder. It is such a good feeling. I'm really happy for both of my best friends in the entire world.

"So," I started, still excited, "Who admitted it first? You or Adam? Because both of you are so shy when it comes to that-"

"Wait, what?" Allison interrupted in complete bafflement.

Um…Allison you're supposed hang on to the excitement during these moments.

I spoke English right?

"You and Adam…" I repeated slowly, losing some of my brightness. "You guys finally worked it out…right?"

My friend sputtered over the line, "Wh-what? You-you think Adam and I? Pfft! What, no….no no no. I don't- just no. Okay? No."

I'm guessing by the amount of no's in that statement that it must be someone else.

But…if Adam wasn't the person she talked to…then who was it?

A new weight appeared on my shoulder when my thick head finally figured out whom Allison meant by 'him.' What was left of my smile slowly turned into a frown and a sense of foreboding filled my heart.

Oh _crap._

I cleared my throat to make Allison stop muttering nonsense, "You're talking about Nick…aren't you."

A nervous giggle was heard on the other line.

"Yeah! I was walking out of Starbucks and I ran into him!" She sounds so excited…it's kind of making me sick. "Anyways, I finally manned up –or womaned up- and asked him if he wanted to drink his coffee with me. He did!"

Eh?

"He such an awesome guy. So polite and charming, and everything I thought he would be!"

Oh gosh, I feel really sick. I shouldn't be feeling this way. No, Nick can talk to whomever he wants to. Allison likes him, you knew this.

"Ah," I struggled to get out through my tightened throat. My voice tried to create some of that laughter I always share with Allison when exciting things happen. I got out a few weak chuckles.

"Jane?" Allison asked hesitantly. "Where's your exciting laughter?"

"Oh! I…uh," I tried to think of an excuse to get off of the phone. I'm such a terrible friend, but I seriously would burst out crying if I heard anymore about the oh-so-amazing time she had Nick. "My-my mom's calling me Allison. Sorry. I'm very _happy _for you. Gotta go. Bye."

My loose grip on the phone resulted in it being discarded on the floor. I just sat on the bed, unsure of the burning feelings running through my body.

Nick shouldn't be having fun with other people, especially when he hung out with me tonight. He should have gone straight home! Doesn't he have a curfew?! It's like – I turned to look at the clock- 9:30!

My numb body finally started up and my legs began pacing the room while I bit my thumb.

What is this feeling? It's so unexpected, and quite unwelcome. I should be supporting her like I told both her and Adam I would! But, now…I would like nothing better than to be the person screaming on the other end of the phone over how I had coffee with Nick at Starbucks.

This feeling…I've felt it before…

I felt it a few weeks ago when some girl in the lunch line got a better serving of fries than me…

Holy FREAKING crap.

I am _jealous_ over Nick Lucas.

* * *

Wow!!!! Finally Jane!!! I know, Nick never told her how to describe the perfect musical moment, but let's just say Jane will figure it out on her own. Not that I won't write it of course, but it will be in future chapters.

Hope you all liked it! And, please remember to review.


	10. Bad Day Turned Good

So…I know you guys probably don't want to hear any excuses over the lateness of this chapter, so I'll just save the small talk for the end.

Enjoy!

* * *

Sleet…

Precipitation that occurs to make an individual's mood worse than it already is. Rain would have sufficed for a bad day, thank you very much.

Stupid northern United States weather.

As you can probably guess, after a full night of insomnia, I awoke to a world of ice and cold. Bitter air. It kind of fits the moment, doesn't it?

Freaking spectacular.

So, when I arrived in the slippery parking lot of Horace Mantis Academy (because the school system thinks we all know how to drive in these conditions), the odds of me falling pretty much overruled me. That's right. Once I stepped out of my car, my shoes lost friction on the icy ground and thus resulted in me falling on my butt.

Let's just say I was smart enough to wear pants this morning.

"Jane, are you okay?" I heard familiar voices.

Blowing the tussled hair out my face, I saw the two concerned faces of Macy and Stella. Two people associated with the one person I do not want to think about. Just to be sure, my eyes scanned the area, making sure that Nick Lucas was nowhere in sight.

I don't think things could get much worse, but it was nice to know that the guy I liked did not see me fall.

"I'm peachy," I muttered, starting to gather all of my books which had been strewn under my car.

"Here, let me help," Stella offered as she laid her coat down on the ground along with Macy. Both of them searched for my missing school articles.

"Thanks," I said softly. Seriously, those two are as good as gold, and with the night I had yesterday, I definitely could use a break from my misery.

I never thought I would use the word 'misery' to describe a situation in my life….but there you go.

Macy handed me my last notebook and held out a hand to help me up. I gladly accepted and patted my winter uniform down.

"Not the best way to start my day," I laughed a little at myself.

Macy nodded, "I completely understand! But, at least you didn't almost run over Kevin Lucas with your car." Both Stella and I winced.

"Yeah," Stella agreed slowly. "I had a little mishap myself this morning."

Her brunette friend scoffed. "Mhm, mismatching your earrings is so terrible compared to almost running over Kevin."

"Well, it was terrible to me," her friend sniffed.

I chuckled at the two compadres. "Thanks for helping me out, but I think I should head to class." It was a little early to head off to class, but I figured with how slow I would have to trek across the deadly parking lot, it sounded like a good idea.

Apparently I thought wrong, when gasps came from both girls as I turned my back to them. Two pairs of hands then halted me in my steps.

"Not with that huge hole in your pants you're not," Stella whispered frantically.

…

"You're kidding," I whispered in a deadly voice. Please tell me things did _not _just get worse.

Macy appeared in my line of vision with a morbid expression. "Stella would never joke about ruined pants."

I slapped a hand to my face, getting ready to let loose many tears of frustration, but I really didn't want people I barely knew to see me cry.

"I guess I'll just drive home and change then," I stated quickly, wanting to just go home wishing today never happened.

Yet again…somebody stopped me from doing so. I swear, if people don't stop halting me, I will go bat-crazy and have my revenge.

"Nonsense!" Stella laughed and turned me around.

"You _want _me to walk around with my pink underwear displayed to all?" Come on Stella. I thought you were more fashionable than this. And yes, I wear pink underwear. Something about them just puts a bounce in your step.

"No, no," Macy shook her head. "Stella has plenty of back-up clothes in her second locker."

Seriously, how many lockers do these people have? I should write a letter of complaint…or at least ask for an extra locker myself. Oh! Imagine having a locker/refrigerator. That would be the most beautiful site in-between classes _ever_.

Sorry about the personal tangents. It happens when I'm stressed.

But, as sweet as Stella's proposition sounded…I couldn't just wear clothes that didn't belong to me…no matter how pretty they might be.

"Thanks Stella, but I really can't accept-"

"Don't be modest," the blonde ordered, shutting me up. "I _want _to help and once I've made up my mind about helping someone, you can't change it." Macy nodded in agreement.

As more cars arrived in the parking lot and as my rear end felt a cold breeze, I realized that I really had no choice but to accept Stella and Macy's kindness.

Plus, I was afraid they would drag me across the ground if I said no. That is something I definitely do not want to experience again.

I hesitantly nodded and tightened the grip on my bag. Please, Dear Lord, don't let anything else embarrassing happen.

Stella grinned and let me walk ahead of her as her and Macy protected the embarrassing view in the back. Easier said than done. There came a few times when people would want to exchange pleasantries in the morning.

How dare they.

In the end, however, I am very proud to say the three of us made it inside the school successfully.

Now we just had to get through the busy morning hustle of the hallways…

Maybe this wouldn't work after all.

Before I could turn around and wimp out, Macy and Stella pushed me forward.

"Jane!" I heard Allison call out to my right.

Crap.

"Over here," my friend said like she always did in the morning. Adam stood by her and waved at me to come over and join in whatever conversation they were having. I almost did the stupid act of going in her direction, but the two girls behind me are apparently smarter.

"Sorry guys," I responded as Stella and Macy started to move faster. "I'll see you later!" When I don't have a gaping hole in my pants.

"But, my mom made her fudge!" Adam called out, holding a container full of delectable treats in the air.

"Fudge?" My eyes wandered to the container dreamily.

"No," Stella ordered, and pushed me around the corner.

I think a part of me just died from leaving behind the fudge.

"It's probably not a good idea to eat chocolate in the hallways when your pants are ripped," Macy said.

"You're right," I sighed, kicking an invisible rock.

"We made it," Stella beamed triumphantly as she turned the lock combination. "Lean against the locker while I assemble the perfect ensemble." She then giggled at her own word play, but then noticed that neither Macy nor I caught on and sighed in disappointment.

While Stella and Macy rummaged through her locker(s) for a nice outfit, I let my mind wander a little. As you could probably guess, the thoughts centered on a particular person…of the male gender…

And their name rhymed with Rick.

*My Random, Nonsensical Thoughts Focusing on a Guy Whose Name Rhymes with Rick and Other Things*

Oh how my parents would flip if they found out their suspicions had been correct. I can see it now.

Mom: I knew it!

Dad: I know you knew it!

Me: Shut up.

Adam? Well he would just be as happy as a little boy at Christmas, and then spout off things about hopes, dreams, love, and other good things.

Adam: Aw, you like Nick? I am so happy for you! Let's talk about your future relationship.

Me: Shut up.

And Allison?

Let's face it. I would receive The Worst Friend of The Year award.

Allison: How could you do this to me? You've betrayed me!

Me: *speechless*

All in all, I think I've got everyone's reactions spot on.

Except Nick's reaction…

Not that he's going to find out I like him. Yeah right, there is no way I'm going to spill the beans when my best friend likes Nick too. Plus, I will admit that I am scared to death of what the guy might say or do. There are three scenarios. Number One: He is grossed out and runs away. Number Two: He says he just wants to be friends and walks away. Number Three: Nick says he likes me back and kisses me…

*Abrupt End of My Random, Nonsensical Thoughts Focusing on a Guy Whose Name Rhymes with Rick and Other Things*

Right when my imagination of the third scenario began (and such a lovely scene it was) a set of fingers snapped in front of my eyes. Right when Nick had swept me up in his arms.

My irritable behavior following is understandable.

"What?" I snapped, unhappy to be pulled from my imaginary romance.

My eyes met those of a confused Macy Misa and I immediately apologized.

"No, it's okay," Macy reassured me. "I just…" She trailed off, tapping a finger to her chin and eyeing me carefully. Unless I sprouted another eye, I doubt there's anything interesting going on with my face.

"Just what?" Come on Macy, staring is rude.

"That look you had earlier," she continued. "It seemed familiar."

"I think staring off into space is familiar for everyone," I laughed uncomfortably.

Macy gave me one more glance and then shrugged. "It'll come to me, but I swear I had déjà vu for a second."

I simply nodded, not completely understanding her words, but still remained uncomfortable all the same. It doesn't matter, I tell myself. It doesn't matter.

Especially since Stella just yelled in triumph over completing an outfit for me.

"I am a genius!" she shouted to the world…or just the passerby's in the hallway giving her and her two lockers a double take.

Macy formed her mouth in an "O" shape to awe at the ensemble. I simply squealed in excitement and dashed towards the blonde to give her a bone-crushing hug. Stella halted me by raising her hand though.

Maybe she's not one for hugs.

That's no fun…

"Turn your back to the wall," she snapped. "Unless you want your undergarments shown to the world."

My face flushed a deep red and I did as told, but could you blame me? The outfit is amazing! A red tunic coming down to the thighs of a pair of blue, pleated pants that would go perfectly with my red flats.

"Seriously Stella, this is awesome," I stated, disbelieving that someone who knows me very little, would go through all of this trouble for me.

The stylist nodded at the praise with a grin, "Thanks Jane, now let's get you to the girl's bathroom so you can change."

"Oh look!" Macy beamed facing the opposite direction. "Kevin's coming!" A familiar dreamy expression overcame the brunette.

I froze in fear of my cover being blown, until Stella shoved me back against the lockers. I suddenly felt a pang of sympathy (or maybe it was the back of my head hitting the lockers) for the Lucas brothers…

"Just stay where you are," she ordered, as Macy and Kevin started up some conversation about lucky boots. "Kevin's not exactly savvy when it comes to keeping his mouth shut."

I nodded and just placed myself against the lockers. Kevin and Macy just wanted to speak for a second right?

Five minutes later…

"I love that café!" Macy exclaimed in her usual bubbliness. "They have the best vanilla crème lattes."

Kevin appeared especially thrilled with this bit of information. "Really? Maybe we should go together some time."

I furrowed my brow in confusion when the guitar player's voice suddenly failed him after that suggestion. His usual rosy complexion turned even darker…and is that sweat I'm seeing? My eyes shot to Macy, and noticed that her voice had failed her as well. Her eyes were downcast and her natural color turned red as well.

"Aw," Stella squeaked in a whisper by me. "It's finally happening!"

"What's happening?" I asked dumbly. The sight did appear adorable, kind of like how I imagined Adam and Allison would look when they proclaimed their love for each other-

Oh…

_That's _what's happening.

"Aw," I squeaked in whisper like Stella.

Even though they both couldn't speak, creating an awkward silence, the picture before my eyes was so cute. Chick flicks had nothing on Kevin and Macy.

"YO!" A loud, male voice interrupted the cinema-worthy moment.

"Joe…"Stella glared at the middle Lucas as Kevin and Macy jumped and turned away from each other. Like the moment had never even happened. Macy didn't even get to answer Kevin when he had basically asked her out.

The oblivious band member paid no attention to his seriously bad timing and punched his older brother lightly on the shoulder.

"What's up bro?"

"The ceiling," Kevin stated matter-of-factly, though his usual gung-ho attitude seemed dimmer. His eyes kept flicking over to Macy's apparent frown as Joe gave him a detailed account of his morning.

"And then Nick chased me around the house after he caught me putting corn syrup in his shampoo," Joe laughed heartily as Kevin chuckled half-heartedly.

Macy sighed in defeat and shuffled over by my side. "Sorry for the wait."

"Macy," Stella said sympathetically.

"Forget about it," the brunette shrugged, and then turned toward me with a bright smile. "Let's get you to the bathroom so you won't have stand in front of our lockers all day."

It kind of freaked me out how fast that girl's attitude changed, but seeing as the first bell just rang and the fact that Nick might show up any second, I really wanted to get into some non-damaged clothes.

Stella and Macy backed me up like before and we made our way to the bathroom.

Note to self: Guys are total wimps when it comes to asking girls they really like out on a date.

* * *

"Jane! Love the outfit," some random girl whose name escaped my memory (I know; terrible) called out to me as I made my way to lunch.

"Thanks," I smiled and waved. You know, for such a crappy morning, the afternoon is turning out quite well. My morning classes went by in a rush, and Adam even saved me some of his mom's homemade fudge.

The smell of the chocolatey goodness immediately hit my senses when I came to halt in front of my locker, and I sighed in content.

"I hope you have missed me, my delectable treat," I said to myself as I opened my locker and retrieved the tubbawear. The hallway I stood in was completely empty (surprisingly), so I deemed it okay to talk to my dessert.

Moments like these make me forget how difficult life can be. Tests are hard, and newfound emotions can put you in turmoil, but tell me…What is so difficult about chocolate fudge given to you by a loving friend?

Exactly.

I got so lost in my peaceful reverie that I never heard the footsteps coming up behind me.

And then came the clearing of the throat.

My hands almost lost hold of the plastic container, and I gained an expression of annoyance. Partly due to the almost death of my fudge, and partly due to the fact it is probably Van Dyke wanting to copy my notes since he's too busy keeping the balance in the universe by existing to write some words down on a piece of paper.

"If you just came to ask me for my notes, you are going on my hit list," I warned, turning around to glare at my cousin…

Oh…

It's not Van Dyke…

It's Nick…

"Am I still in danger if that's not what I came here for?" Nick asked, standing there in all his glory. I'm sure I have described his physical features enough to where all of you know what he looks like.

Darn Nick and his natural handsomeness and keen knack for catching me at my weird moments. Though I must say, I love that expression of confusion he tends to get around me.

Oh wait, I'm standing here not saying anything to him.

"Oh! Um, no. You're A-Okay," I nervously grinned, and laughed a little when the musician portrayed mock relief. After those words came out of my mouth, I found that my mind had formed into a blank slate. I had no idea what to say to Nick. Panicking a little, my mouth blurted out the only thing my mind could think of.

"It's cold outside." Curses.

Nick's mock expression of relief quickly deflated to a pair of confused eyes and a twitching upper lip. Way to go Jane. Yes, I'm sure even my dead cat could figure out the weather.

Poor Snuffles…

"Yes it is, Jane," the musician slowly responded. "Are you heading to lunch?"

I quickly snapped out of my brainless state, and tightened the hold on my container of fudge. "Yeah. This dessert cannot go uneaten." Breathe Jane. Act natural.

Nick chuckled, and put a lazy hand into his blazer pocket. "No. Fudge can never be left alone." His grip on his shoulder strap tightened before he asked, "You want some company? I mean, on the way to the cafeteria."

For a second, I really thought "No!" would come from my stupid mouth. But…then I realized that Nick and I were still friends. Just because I have a crush on him, doesn't mean that I still could not talk to him like before.

In fact, it kind of made me want to talk to him all the time.

I almost wanted to laugh at myself over how nervous I had acted. There's nothing wrong with being you, Jane. Nothing ever stopped this before so why stop now?

"I guess," I sighed dramatically, feeling significantly lighter than before. "But, I am not sharing this fudge with you."

Nick seemed to have noticed the shift in attitude, and he grinned lopsidedly. "One of these days, maybe?"

I shook my head resolutely as we started our walk to the cafeteria, "Nope."

When my ears picked up the soft chuckle from Nick, I couldn't help but smile.

I must have gotten lost in my own enjoyment of the moment, but my ears missed the small muttering from Nick.

"I'm sorry. Miles away," I apologized, blinking back to reality.

Nick laughed and nodded in understanding, though he kept his eyes on the floor. "It was nothing important. I just thought you looked nice today is all."

The hold on my plastic container grew limp, and I almost dropped it from shock. Nick said I looked nice. He thinks I look nice. Nice is good. Nice is _great_.

Holy crap, my heart is beating a thousand times a second. Just return the compliment, Jane. It won't kill you.

"I'd say the same thing, but you look nice every day, so it's nothing new for me," I responded, wincing at my own wording. Good grief…I suck.

I heard an amused laugh come from the guy walking by my side, but it sounded shakier than usual. "Thanks Jane." I risked a glance and saw Nick rubbing the back of his neck while he kept his eyes on the floor. A moment passed where I wished he would gaze in my direction.

As if he read my mind, Nick suddenly locked his eyes with mine. My steps faltered from the surprise, but from some unknown source of bravery, I smiled at him…

And then he smiled back.

It was perfect.

It only lasted for five seconds, but it was one of the best moments of my life. I didn't think pure bliss existed until that moment, but apparently it does. I felt like I was walking on air, and my mind swirled in content, creating all of these hopes and dreams that had never even crossed my mind until now.

One of these many thoughts held a melodic feel to it, and before I knew it a new verse came to life in my head.

_Because I feel alive_

_Every time I catch your eye!_

_My heart beats fast,_

_And I know it's gonna last._

That little devil. He did it again.

* * *

During lunch those words rang through my mind, and my fingers tapped in rhythm on the wooden table Adam and I shared. Every now and then, when I pretended to hear Adam's lovelorn words, my eyes would flicker to Nick. And, just like the hallway the words would automatically pop in my head. It made me want to steal a guitar and try out the lyrics.

"Jane, are you even listening to me?" Adam interrupted my thoughts.

"Yeah…" I answered slowly, with my eyes still focused on the table where Nick reprimanded Joe for his earlier antics. Stella seemed to want to join in on it too, occasionally wagging her finger in the middle Lucas' face.

A set of fingers snapped in front of the scene, and I almost dropped my plastic spoon of fudge. "Sorry, Adam! Sorry, what were you saying?"

Adam followed my past line of sight and brought his suspicious eyes back to mine. "Jane, why do you keep looking at Nick Lucas?"

My hand froze in bringing the spoon of fudge to my lips, and ended up laughing innocently. "No reason, but I think he has a stain on his shirt-"

"Don't lie," Adam interrupted in a tone I heard rarely. My friend hated it when people did not tell the truth, so he always used a deep, reprimanding voice that would make even the strongest of men crack. Since I am not the strongest of men (obviously), I cracked very easily. My shoulders sagged, and I even pushed my dessert away.

"I realized something last night," I mumbled, already feeling the heat creep up in my neck. Maybe I should ask Stella if she has a scarf handy

Adam scooted his chair closer to mine, losing his intensity from before. "What did you realize?" he asked with his voice full of concern.

Leaning in closer, I lowered my voice to a whisper so no one else could hear, "I like Nick."

I did not expect my best friend to laugh at me, and to be honest, I did not appreciate it. I mean, in the movies don't the guy friends always react with something other than laughter? Like gasping in surprise or a tearful hug. I must have not been picky when I chose Adam as a friend.

Note to self: Be pickier when choosing friends.

"Are you done laughing?" I asked with a click of my tongue. Adam responded with a few more quivers of his shoulders, obviously trying to keep the laughter in.

"Sorry, Jane," he answered, shaking his head in amusement.

"Yeah, whatever," I hissed. "I tell you I like the guy that Allison is head over heels for, and you freaking laugh at me!" That statement seemed to have sobered him up a bit, but the mirth never left his eyes.

"I already apologized," Adam pointed out. "So there's not much more to say as far as apologies go, but if you were in my position you would laugh too."

"That's questionable," I said, folding my arms in a huff. "What's there to laugh about?" I'm no stranger to humor, and the situation I find myself in does not make me burst into fits of laughter.

Adam chuckled again while leaning back in his seat. "Stage one: We find out Allison has a crush on Nick Lucas, so you help her out." After he said that, the humor dissipated. "Stage two: You find out I like Allison, and try to help us both out. Then…Stage three: You end up getting a crush on the guy you have been trying to set up with another person."

A cricket might have chirped in between the stare down we shared.

"That's not funny," I said bluntly. "That's ironic."

Adam shrugged with that cherubic grin of his. "Then I guess I'm a fan of irony."

That made me laugh. "You're a terrible friend." Darn my unwillingness to stay mad at him. But even if my rage did cease, how did that help me in my current predicament? My eyes flickered over to that table in the corner where Stella was currently showing the Lucas brothers some new designs on a notepad. Joe apparently said something funny, causing the occupants of the table. Even Nick smiled. The type of smile that didn't over exaggerate one's happiness. He looked perfectly content with his company. This in turn made me smile.

"I really like him, Adam," I sighed wistfully. My fingers itched to tap the beat of the song forming in my head again, but Adam spoke before I could.

"Then do something about it," he said in all seriousness.

Tearing my eyes away Nick, I scoffed in disbelief. "Yeah, and what about Allison? Crush or not, she's a good friend. What am I going to do? Walk up to her and say, 'Hey, Allison I like the guy you're totally crushing on! Still friends?'"

Drama, drama, drama.

"I know," Adam nodded, a pained expression on his face, but that expression disappeared when something behind me caught his attention. His crinkled forehead smoothed out and his eyebrows rose to the roof. "But, Nick isn't looking at Allison. He's looking at you, Jane."

"What is that Adam?" I sighed, growing tired of the conversation. There was fudge to be eaten after all. "Another deep, metaphorical saying?"

"What? No," Adam sputtered, pointing right behind me. "I mean Nick Lucas is looking in our direction, at _you_, right now."

I froze at this bit of information, and felt a sudden urge to dive my head deep into my arms to hide the resurgence of heat creeping up from my neck to my entire face. He's looking at me? I don't know if that counts as good or bad, but nevertheless it embarrassed me. My head already started to move, but Adam grabbed my shoulder to keep me from doing so.

"I don't think so, Jane," Adam said, sounding like my father for a déjà vu second. "Go over and talk to him!"

"Are you crazy?" I shook my head quickly and laughed nervously. My hands started shaking from how hard my heart began to beat.

"If you don't move now, I'll call him over anyway," my friend whispered.

Wait…Adam's blackmailing me? It appears that the pod person who had taken over Adam before has returned. At first, I just stared at him with a disbelieving glare, but it seemed that he did not lie. Adam scooted his chair from the table and got up.

"No!" I hissed, grabbing his arm and shoving him back down. "Fine, fine. I'll talk to him, geez."

"That's what I like to hear, Jane," Adam said happily, returning back to his normal self. "Better hurry; lunch is almost over."

Knowing that I would have some sort of revenge on my friend after school calmed down my erratic-beating heart, but that still did not solve the guilt digging at my stomach. If Allison saw this, she would feel betrayed for sure.

Adam seemed to have read my thoughts, and subsequently stood up and patted me on the back. "It'll be okay, Jane. Allison won't hold it against you, and if she does…I'll take the blame."

"You didn't do anything," I scoffed.

Adam shifted uncomfortably on the spot. "Yeah…but, I'm not going to deny that me encouraging you towards Nick doesn't have anything to do with my feelings for Allison."

Yeah, it sounded a little selfish on his part, but I could understand his reasons. From an unbiased perspective, even I knew that Allison liked Adam, but for whatever reason she held onto her crush for Nick.

Such is the life of a teenager I guess.

My inner monologue came to a halt when Adam nudged me towards the table in the back. Giving up my embarrassment (which included lots of mental screaming on my part); I gave Adam a small salute and made my way towards the ever-popular lunch table. My eyes kept descending to the floor, but I knew that there was no shame in looking Nick's way. Once my eyes steadied themselves, I immediately wanted to gaze back down…even if the cafeteria floor resembled a germaphobe's nightmare. The entire table already noticed my presence. Macy and Stella waved brightly, with the stylist mouthing 'Nice outfit.' Joe and Kevin gazed at my approaching figure questioningly. And, Nick? Well, he looked like he always did.

"Hey Jane," Nick welcomed with his ghost of a smile, though it appeared more pronounced than usual. His hand gestured to the seat right by him. Such a gentleman, I thought with a mental swoon…

Swoon?

Oh gosh, just call me Scarlett O'Hara and give Nick a big mustache and cigar.

"So, how's everyone doing?" I ask, placing my elbows on the table, trying to relax. It was kind of hard, considering the amount of people at the table made the sitting space compact. A few centimeters closer and Nick and I might as well share the same chair. Kevin sat to my left, but he scooted closer to Macy than necessary.

"Stella was showing us some outfits for the upcoming Halloween concert," Nick responded, twisting the stem of his apple off. "Joe, however, thinks we should dress as zombies."

"Come on," Joe pleaded with Stella, putting an arm around her shoulders for emphasis. "It's Halloween. We should dress up!"

"We have a fair amount of fans that are still in elementary school," Nick sighed in frustration. Something tells me this conversation had gone on for some time. "Don't you think the _undead_ would scare them?"

"It would get us in good with horror filmmakers," Kevin said thoughtfully, and then he gasped in excitement. "We could be in the next Fiona Sky movie!"

Macy scoffed, "What's it called? _Think and Die_?" Dang Macy that was a burn…a burn that I can appreciate.

Everyone at the table continued on in their own conversations. Joe and Stella continued to work out their differences on some outfits, Kevin and Macy discussed their least favorite horror movies, and Nick? Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Nick tap his fingers on the table in a rhythmic pattern; just like I had done previously. His eyes held a vacant look to them, but anyone who knew him well enough could see that he was deep in thought.

Was he thinking of a new song? I watched with wonder as his fingers tapped a complex rhythm on the table.

"New song?" I asked suddenly, unable to deal with my curiosity any longer.

Nick blinked his eyes and the vacant expression left him, replacing it with surprised grin. He crossed his arms and leaned against the table, intrigued. The action almost made me turn to goo, but luckily my unanswered question kept me solid.

"How'd you know?" Nick asked.

"Sometimes I get the same look when I think of a new song," I answered, thinking back to my earlier experience with the new verse. A part of me suddenly wanted to tell him about the growth of the song, and I almost did…but…

The words that came to me in that moment felt so personal, and not to mention they were about _him_. Then again, I guess the song was always about him. Ever since Allison made me listen to some of his songs, I felt inspired to write something because of it.

I almost laughed out loud at my own thickness. You know the whole "the first time I met him" sort of thing. Nick Lucas is no exception. I never thought I would fall for someone under these circumstances, but there you go.

Typical.

And of course Nick would ask the one question I wanted to avoid.

"Speaking of which, have you made any progress on your song?" he asked, sincerely wanting to know. Darn him.

There were two options; none of which appealed to me. Tell the truth or lie. It's kind of depressing when you can't decide whether to do the right thing or not.

But, it appeared that someone above knew of my internal struggle and gave me a small break.

In other words…the school bell rang. For once, I was saved by the bell.

I quickly got up from the table with an apologetic look towards Nick, but paused in my desertion.

He looked disappointed, but failed in trying to hide it from me. His forehead creased in dissatisfaction while he tried to fool me with a ghost of a smile.

"See you, Jane," Nick gave a small wave, and turned back towards his brothers and friends.

Guilt lingered in the back of my mind as I walked away from the table, and I almost exited the cafeteria, but I stopped right before the double doors with a frown. Nick had spent all of last night trying to not only help me with my song, but my poem as well.

A hint wouldn't hurt…right?

Nodding at myself in approval, I turned around and made my way back to Nick's table, grinning with confidence. I tapped his shoulder lightly, and he turned around still looking down, but brightened up once he saw me.

"I'll show you the new verse in French," I said, already feeling the heat creep up my neck.

All disappointment left the visage of Nick Lucas, and I felt like my work was done. I gave a small salute to the table and walked out of the cafeteria with a clear conscious and smile that wasn't going to come off my face any time soon.

* * *

I really want to thank all of you for reading and reviewing. I know Jonas/OC is kind of iffy in the fanfiction community, but thanks for giving this one a chance. Again, I am so sorry for the delay. Work has been hectic, and not to mention I have some other stories that I'm trying to work on. But, hopefully the next update will come sooner than this one did.

Thanks for the love, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter! The next one will definitely have some awesome Jane/Nick moments…and will Allison find out the truth? Gasp!

Haha, we'll see!

The only thing I ask is for reviews, so if you liked it or have some constructive criticism, please do so.


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